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SPANISH   AMERICA 


THE  SOUTH  AMERICAN  SERIES 

Demy  8vo,  cloth. 

1.  CHILE.    By  G.  F.  SCOTT  ELLIOTT,  F.R.G.S.  With 

an  Introduction  by  Martin  Hume,  a  Map,  and  39  Illustrations. 
(4th  Impression.) 

2.  PERU.    By  C.  REGINALD  KNOCK,  F.R.G.S.    With 

an  Introduction  by  Martin  Hume,  a  Map,  and  72  Illustrations. 
(3rd  Impression.) 

3.  MEXICO.  By  C.  REGINALD  KNOCK,  F.R.G.S.  With 

an  Introduction  by  Martin  Hume,  a  Map,  and  64  Illustrations. 
(3rd  Impression.) 

4.  ARGENTINA.    By  W.  A.  HIRST.  With  an  Intro- 
duction by  Martin  Hume,  a  Map,  and  64  Illustrations.    (4th  Im- 
pression.) 

5.  BRAZIL.    By  PIERRE  DENIS.    With  a  Historical 

Chapter  by  Bernard  Miall,  a  Map,  and  36  Illustrations.  (2nd 
Impression.) 

6.  URUGUAY.    By  W.  H.  KOEBEL.   WithaMapand 

55  Illustrations. 

7.  GUIANA:    British,    French,    and    Dutch.     By 

JAMES  RODWAY.    With  a  Map  and  36  Illustrations. 

8.  VENEZUELA.    By  LEONARD  V.  DALTON,  B.Sc. 

(Lond.),  F.G.S.,  F.R.Q.S.  With  a  Map  and  36  Illustrations. 
(2nd  Impression.) 

9.  LATIN  AMERICA:  Its  Rise  and  Progress.  By 

F.  GARCIA  CAI.DERON.  With  a  Preface  by  Raymond  Poincare, 
President  of  France,  a  Map,  and  34  Illustrations.  (2nd  Im- 
pression.) 

to.    COLOMBIA.     By  PHANOR  JAMES   KDER,  A.B., 

LL.B.    With  2  Maps  and  40  Illustrations.    (2nd  Impression.) 

11.  ECUADOR.    By  C.  REGINALD  KNOCK,  F.R.G.S. 

12.  BOLIVIA.    By  PAUL  WALLE.    With  62  Illustra- 
tions and  4  Maps. 

13.  PARAGUAY.    By  W.  H.  KOEBEL. 

14.  CENTRAL  AMERICA.     By  W.  H.  KOEBEL. 


Martin  Hume  is  the  most  noteworthy."— TIMES. 

"  Mr.  Unwin  is  doing  good  service  to  commercial  men  and  investors 
by  the  production  of  his  'South  American  Series.'" — SATURDAY 
KEVIKW. 

"Those  who  wish  to  pain  some  idea  of  the  march  of  progress  in 
these  countries  cannot  do  better  than  study  the  admirable  '  South 
American  Series.'"— CHAMBER  OK  COMMERCK  JOURNAL. 


N 


COLON  :    STATUK   REPRESENTING   COLUMBUS   PROTECTING   THE   INDIANS. 

Vol.  1.    Frontispiec*. 


SPANISH  AMERICA 

ITS    ROMANCE,   REALITY 
AND   FUTURE 


BY 


C.    R.    ENOCK,   C.E.,    F.R.G.S. 

AUTHOR  OF  "THE  ANDES  AND  THE  AMAZON,"  "PERU," 
"MEXICO,"  "ECUADOR,"  ETC. 


WITH   25  ILLUSTRATIONS 


VOL.    I 


NEW  YORK 
CHARLES  SCRIBNER'S  SONS 

597-699  FIFTH   AVENUE 


3089 


I 


(All  rights  reserved) 

PRINTED  IN  GREAT  BRITAIN 


£ 


J1  J 


v. 

PREFACE 

THE  purpose  of  this  work  is  twofold— to  afford 
a  broad  survey  of  the  Latin  American  countries, 
with  the  colour  and  interest  which  so  strongly 
characterizes  this  half  of  the  New  World ;  and  to 
offer  in  some  degree  a  detailed  study  of  the  region 
as  concerns  what  (elsewhere)  I  have  ventured  to 
term  a  "  science  of  humanity  "  or  science  of  cor- 
porate life,  whose  main  factors  are  topographical, 
occupational  or  industrial,  and  ethical  or  ethical- 
economic.  New  responsibilities  are  arising  in  our 
dealings  and  contact  with  foreign  lands,  especially 
those  whose  social  affairs  are  still  backward.  We 
must  beware  how  we  regard  the  folk  of  such  lands 
mainly  as  hewers  of  wood  and  drawers  of  water, 
or  absorbents  of  exported  goods  or  producers  of 
dividends,  or  their  lands  as  mainly  reservoirs  of 
raw  material.  Elemental  forces  are  at  work  in  the 
world  to-day,  which  only  justice  and  constructive 
intelligence  can  control.  The  English-speaking 
peoples  have  wide  interests  and  consequent  re- 
sponsibilities in  these  lands  :  matters  which  are 
discussed  in  the  final  chapter. 

As  will  be  seen,  I  have  embodied  many  de- 
scriptive passages  in  this  book  from!  the  various 
authors  of  the  South  American  Series,  to  which 
the  present  work  is  in  a  measure  auxiliary. 

C.  R.  E. 

FROXFIELD,  HANTS,  ENGLAND. 
May  1920. 


CONTENTS 

PAGB 

PREFACE  Y  t  .  .  .  .5 

CHAPTER 

I.      A  RECONNAISSANCE,  AND  SOME  INFORMAL  GEOGRAPHY      II 
II.      A   HISTORICAL  OUTLINE  .  f  .  ' ,  .40 

III.  CENTRAL        AMERICA  :         GUATEMALA,         HONDURAS, 

BRITISH        HONDURAS,       NICARAGUA,       SALVADOR, 
COSTA    RICA,    PANAMA  .  .  ,  -63 

IV.  ANCIENT  AND   MODERN   MEXICO  .  .  -99 

V.      ALONG        THE       PACIFIC       COAST  :     IN       COLOMBIA, 

ECUADOR    AND     PERU  ....    151 

VI.      ALONG     THE     PACIFIC    COAST :     IN     PERU,      BOLIVIA 

AND  CHILE  .....    176 

VII.      THE    CORDILLERA    OF     THE    ANDES  :    IN     ECUADOR, 

PERU  AND   BOLIVIA  ....   209 

VIII.      THE     CORDILLERA     OF    THE     ANDES  :     IN     BOLIVIA, 

CHILE  AND  ARGENTINA  .  .   266 


INDEX  ......    291 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

COLON  :   STATUE     REPRESENTING     COLUMBUS    PROTECTING 

THE  INDIANS     .....     Frontispiece 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

AVENIDA  CENTRAL,   RIO  DE  JANEIRO  .  .  .20 

THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION  :     STONE   STEL^  AT  QUIRIGUA, 

CENTRAL  AMERICA  .  .  .  .  •      32 

THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATION  :   RUINS  OF  MITLA,   MEXICO      .      60 

THE   CATHEDRAL,  GUATEMALA  .  .  .  .      70 

THE  CITY  OF  GUATEMALA     .  .  .  .  .      80 

A   COFFEE   ESTABLISHMENT  IN   CENTRAL  AMERICA  .  .      86 

CUTTING  SUGAR-CANE  IN  CENTRAL  AMERICA  .  .      96 

SCENE   ON  THE  GREAT  PLATEAU,   MEXICO    .  .  .    104 

THE  CATHEDRAL,   CITY  OF  MEXICO  .  .  .114 

CORDOVA    AND    THE    PEAK    OF    ORIZABA,   STATE    OF    VERA 

CRUZ        ...  ...    132 

VILLAGE  ON  THE   PACIFIC  SLOPE,   MEXICO  .  .    140 

VIEW  ON   THE  GRIJALVA  AND  USUMACINTA  RIVERS,  MEXICO    150 
THE  WHARF  AT  GUAYAQUIL  .  .  .  .158 

CULTIVATED   LANDS  ON  THE   PACIFIC   COAST  OF  PERU          .   176 
THE  LANDING  STAGE  AT^  VALPARAISO  .  .  .198 


10  ILLUSTRATIONS 

TO  FACE  PAGE 

THE   MALLECO   RIVER  AND   BRIDGE,  CHILE  .  .   206 

THE  APPROACH   TO  QUITO     .....   222 
PIZARRO,  THE   CONQUISTADOR         -  .  .  .  .   240 

IN  THE   PERUVIAN  ANDES      .....    250 
PERU,   LLAMAS  AND  ALPACAS  ....  260 

PERU  :    NATIVE   BLANKET  WEAVER  IN  THB  ANDES  .  .   260 

THE   RUINED   INCA  FORTRESS  OF  OLLANTAYTAMBO,    PERU  .   264 
INDIAN   RAFTS  ON   LAKE  TITICACA     .  .  .  .   274 

ACONCAGUA,  THE   HIGHEST  ANDINE   PEAK,   CHILE   .  .    288 


SPANISH    AMERICA 

CHAPTER    I 
A    RECONNAISSANCE 

AND    SOME   INFORMAL   GEOGRAPHY 

WHO  has  not  felt  at  some  time  the  lure  of  Spanish 
America,  the  attraction  of  those  half -mysterious 
lands — Peru  or  Panama,  Mexico  or  Brazil,  and  all 
that  galaxy  of  far-off  States,  with  the  remains  of 
their  ancient  civilization  and  their  picturesque 
modern  setting — beneath  the  equatorial  sun,  beyond 
the  Western  sea  ?  They  drew  us  in  our  youth,  were 
it  but  in  the  pages  of  Prescott,  when  with  Cortes 
and  Pizarro  the  Aztec  and  Inca  Empires  lay  before 
us ;  they  draw  us  even  in  maturer  years . 

Yonder  lies  the  Spanish  Main,  glittering  in  the 
sun  as  when  we  sailed  it  first — in  that  long- 
foundered  pirate  craft  of  boyhood ;  there  stretch 
the  tropic  shores  of  wild  Guiana ;  there  the  great 
Andes  rears  its  towering  crests,  and  over  golden 
sands  the  Orinoco  and  the  Amazon  pour  down 
their  mighty  floods ;  whilst,  in  slumberous  and 
mysterious  majesty  beyond,  wide  as  the  sea  of 

Time,    the   vast   Pacific   echoes    on   its  boundless 

11 


12  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

shores.  And  for  those  who  would  seek  the  true  El 
Dorado  of  the  West  the  great  Sixteenth  Century 
has  not  closed  yet,  nor  ever  will ;  the  days  of 
ocean -chivalry  are  not  dead,  the  Elizabethan 
mariners  come  and  go,  for  their  voyages  have  no 
end  within  those  spacious  days  of  history. 

Spanish  America,  in  fact,  is  enshrouded  in  an 
atmosphere  of  romance  and  interest  which  time 
does  not  easily  dispel,  and  remains  a  land  of 
adventure  and  enterprise.  Its  sunny  shores,  its 
picturesque  folk  with  their  still  semi -mediaeval  life, 
despite  their  advancing  civilization— the  great  un- 
travelled  spaces,  the  forests,  the  mountains,  the 
rivers,  the  plains,  and  all  they  contain,  the  lure  and 
profit  of  commerce  and  of  trafficking — all  these 
are  matters  we  cannot  separate  from  the  New 
World  as  peopled  by  Spain  and  Portugal. 

It  is,  moreover,  peculiarly  a  world  of  its  own, 
born  in  an  impressionable  period,  indelibly  stamped 
with  the  strong  individualism  of  the  Iberian  people 
who  overcame  it,  and  it  remains  apart,  refusing  the 
hegemony  of  the  commercialistic  age—  a  circum- 
stance for  which  we  may  be  grateful,  in  a  sense. 
Its  future  is  on  the  lap  of  the  unknown,  offering 
always  the  unexpected  :  geography  has  everywhere 
separated  it  from  the  Old  World ;  temperament 
keeps  the  seclusion. 

Whatever  be  our  errand  in  this  new  world — 
erroneously  termed  "  new,"  for  it  is  old,  and  had 
its  folk,  its  Toltecs  and  pre-Incas,  in  the  apogee 
of  their  ancient  culture  developed  a  shipbuilding 
as  they  did  a  temple -building  art,  they  might  have 


INDIAN   AND   SPANIARD  13 

come  sailing  around  the  world  and  found  us  here 
in  Britain  still  "  painted  savages  "  ;  whatever,  I 
say,  be  our  errand  there,  we  shall  not  understand 
Spanish  America  and  its  people,  just  as  they  will 
never  understand  us,  the  people  of  Anglo-Saxon 
race.  The  gulf  between  us  is  as  deep  as  the 
Atlantic,  as  wide  as  the  Pacific.  The  incompre- 
hensible Spaniard  has  added  himself  to  the  un- 
fathomable Indian,  the  red-brown  man  who  sprang 
from  the  rugged  soil  of  America  (perhaps  from 
some  remote  Mongolian  ancestry),  who,  inscrutable 
as  a  dweller  of  the  moon,  is  still  sullen  and 
secretive  as  he  was — and  well  might  be— after  the 
rapine  which  followed  on  the  white  man's  keel 
and  sail  upon  his  shores  four  centuries  ago  ;  the 
white  conqueror,  who  in  his  adventurous  greed 
destroyed  the  Egypt  and  the  Chaldea  of  America 
and  trampled  their  autochthonous  civilization  in 
the  dust. 

And  as  to  the  Spaniards,  it  is  their  strong  indi- 
vidualism which  presents  a  marked  attraction  here, 
though  one  which  may  not  generally  have  been 
put  into  words :  the  individualism  of  nations 
founded  upon  historical  and  geographical  bases, 
as  has  already  been  said.  We  approach  here,  not 
a  mere  United  States  of  Spanish  America,  not 
a  confederation  of  vast  municipalities  or  provinces 
whose  borders  are  imaginary  parallels  or  meridians, 
but  a  series  of  independent  nations,  each  stamped 
with  its  own  character,  bearing  its  own  indelible 
and  romantic  name,  whose  frontiers  are  rivers  and 
mountain  ranges. 


14  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

Is  there  any  virtue  in  these  things?  In  the 
day  when  prosaic  commercialism,  when  megalo- 
mania and  money  so  sway  us,  there  is  a  refreshing 
atmosphere  about  the  refusal  to  conglomerate  of 
these  picturesque  communities,  whose  names  fall 
pleasingly  on  our  ears.  Yet  there  are  penalties 
too.  Rugged  and  difficult  of  approach — the  vulgar 
gaze  may  not  easily  rest  upon  them  by  the  mere 
passport  of  a  tourist's  ticket— as  are  these  vast 
territories  of  forest,  desert  and  Cordillera,  Nature, 
though  grand  and  spacious,  is  ill  at  ease,  and  the 
mood  might  seem  to  be  impressed  upon  the 
people  of  the  land  that  neither  is  there  peace  for 
them.  For  they  have  soaked  their  land  with  the 
blood  of  their  own  sons,  and  we  might  at  times 
despair  of  self-government  here. 

But  we  need  not  despair.  The  malady  is  but 
part  of  one  that  afflicts  the  whole  world,  whose 
cure  awaits  the  turning  of  the  next  page  of  human 
evolution— a  page  which  can  be  turned  whenever 
slothful  humanity  desires  to  do  it. 

Spanish  America  is  really  one  of  the  most 
interesting  fields  of  travel  in  the  world,  even  if  it 
does  not  make  great  pretension  of  its  attractions. 
From  the  point  of  view  of  the  holiday-maker  it 
has  remained  undeveloped.  The  traveller  who  re- 
quires luxuriance  of  travel,  of  hotel  and  pleasure- 
resort,  such  as  the  playgrounds  of  Europe  afford, 
will  not  find  such  here,  except  perhaps  in  a  few 
of  the  more  advanced  cities.  It  is  a  continent 
which,  despite  its  four  centuries  of  discovery,  has 
so  far  done  little  more  than  present  its  edge  to 


ANOMALIES  OF  CIVILIZATION       15 

the  forces — and  pleasures — of  modern  life.  Nature 
is  in  her  wildest  moods  :  it  is  an  unfinished  world  ; 
mankind  is  still  plastic  /  The  mountain  trail  and 
the  horse  are  more  in  evidence  than  the  railway 
and  the  motor-car ;  the  fond  a  rather  than  the 
hotel.  Here,  moreover,  Don  Quixote  de  la  Mancha 
has  taken  up  his  abode,  and  we  may  find  him 
often,  to  our  pleasure  if  we  like  his  company,  as 
some  of  us  do. 

But  let  us  dismount.  Here  are  beautiful  cities 
too.  A  sensitive  and  developing  people,  the 
Spanish  American  folk  would  resent  any  aspersion 
of  their  civilization.  They  have  all  the  machinery 
of  culture  to  their  hand.  Here  the  Parisian  toilette 
rubs  shoulders  in  their  streets  and  plazas  with  the 
blanketed  and  sandalled  Indian ;  the  man  of 
fashion  and  the  man  of  the  Stone  Age  walk  the 
same  pavement.  Here  in  these  pleasing  towns — 
some  of  them  marvels  of  beauty,  some  of  them  in 
an  atmosphere  of  perpetual  spring,  some  miles 
above  the  sea— are  palaces  of  justice,  art  and 
science.  Here  are  republican  kings  and  pluto- 
crats, rich  with  the  product  of  the  field  and  mine, 
here  are  palms  and  music,  homes  of  highly  cultured 
folk,  speaking  their  soft  Castilian  :  shops  stored 
with  all  the  luxury  of  Europe  or  the  United  States. 
Here  are  streets  of  quaint  colonial  architecture,  and 
courteous  hosts  and  hostesses,  and  damsels  of 
startling  beauty  in  all  the  elegance  of  the  mode. 

Here,  too,  are  smooth-tongued  lawyer  states- 
men, dominating  (as  they  always  do)  the 
Senatorial  Councils,  It  is  true  that  from  time 


16  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

to  time  there  are  disturbing  elements  when  rude 
soldier-politicians  break  in  upon  the  doctor-poli- 
ticians with  the  clatter  of  a  mule -battery  on  the 
pavement,  and  the  sword  takes  the  place  of  the 
bauble ;  it  is  true  that  the  walls  of  the  streets 
are  pitted  here  and  there  with  bullet  marks,  from 
some  whiff  of  grapeshot,  and  that  there  are  stains 
of  blood  upon  the  pavements  ;  and  it  is  true  that 
against  the  white  walls  of  justice,  science,  art  and 
oratory  stands  silhouetted  the  figure  of  the  poor 
Indian,  or  peon,  who  slinks  humilde  amid  the  palms 
and  music— doffing  his  hat  as  he  passes  the 
Cathedral  precincts— and  that  the  veneer  of  civi- 
lization, 'torn  aside,  reveals  at  times  both  the 
cultured  and  the  uncultured  savage. 

Here,  too,  congregate  the  merchants  and 
traffickers  of  all  the  world,  Old  and  New,  from 
all  the  four  corners  of  the  earth  to  buy  and  sell. 
Here  is  the  Frenchman  with  his  emporium  of 
finery,  the  Spaniard  with  his  groceries,  or  the 
Italian  with  his  wares,  the/  Arab  with  his  little 
shop,  the  Chinaman  with  his  laundry  (and  his 
peculiar  affinity  with  the  Indian,  perhaps  of  the 
same  mother-race),  the  German  with  his  hard- 
ware, drugs  and  cheap  jewellery  and  much  besides  ; 
the  English  or  American  with  every  commodity, 
and  in  addition  his  mining  schemes  and  railways 
and  steamers,  or  his  municipal  stocks  and  bonds. 
For  Spanish  America  is  now  a  peculiarly  attractive 
Mecca  of  the  international  merchant  and  pedlar, 
who  does  it  services  both  good  and  ill. 

Here,   in  this  financial  and  business  field,  the 


17 

Englishman  has  been  predominant  (though  that 
predominance  may  not  always  be,  for  he  is  closely 
pressed  now  and  must  not  muddle  on) . 

England,  indeed,  soon  conquered  a  world  com- 
mercially which  she  bungled  in  overcoming  in 
conquest.  She  early  scorned  Columbus,  or  would 
not  help  him  ;  at  Cartagena,  Callao,  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
Montevideo,  Buenos  Ay  res,  and  elsewhere,  her 
admirals  and  generals  seem  to  have  failed,  and 
she  secured  but  a  couple  of  small  footholds  on 
the  continent  and  some  rich  islands  off  its  coast. 
Perhaps  it  was  destiny ;  perhaps  we  would  not 
now  have  it  otherwise,  and  the  Spanish  American 
civilization  develops  more  interestingly  alone.  But 
interesting  too  would  have  been  a  British  Indian 
Empire  in  America,  perhaps  with  possibilities  and 
results  of  value  to  the  world. 

But,  despite  all  this,  the  British  name  here  stands 
high,  and  heaven  grant  it  always  may. 

Not  for  all  her  past  misdeeds,  nor  the  present 
defects  arising  from  them,  shall  we  forget  the  gifts 
that  Spain  has  made  to  the  New  World.  To-day 
it  might  indeed  be  said  that  some  of  the  main 
problems  of  colonial  empires  are  but  beginning 
(as  witness  Egypt  and  India  under  British  rule). 
Spain  made  nations,  even  it  they  afterwards  fell 
from  her  by  misgovernment  or  from  natural 
causes.  She  implanted  her  religion,  literature, 
culture,  language,  architecture  over  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  miles  of  forbidding  desert  and  Cor- 
dillera, as  we  shall  see  in  these  pages.  Over 
a  zone  of  the  earth's  territory  seven  thousand  miles 

VOL.   I.  2 


18  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

long,  from  the  Mexican  border  with  the  United 
States,  throughout  the  twenty  Republics  of  Central 
and  South  America,  to  the  tapering  end  of  Chile, 
the  Spanish  language  is  the  medium  of  communi- 
cation, a  language-area  vaster  than  any  in  the 
world. 

And  Portugal,  the  patron  of  great  voyagers 
and  explorers,  has  left  her  mark  and  language 
upon  her  half  of  the  New  World,  the  old  empire 
of  Brazil,  with  a  population  greater  than  that 
of  all  her  neighbours  combined.  Less  dominat- 
ing than  the  Spaniard  in  the  long  run— for 
Portugal  has  always  said  of  herself  that  she 
could  conquer  but  not  colonize— Portugal  has  left 
her  own  Iberian  culture  in  Latin  America. 

Here,  indeed,  are  the  elements  of  life  in  the 
making,  of  a  civilization  whose  life  is  before  it 
rather  than  behind  it ;  often  picturesque,  often 
sombre,  always,  as  we  have  said,  a  world  of 
its  own,  and  possessed  of  its  own  peculiar 
attractiveness . 

Some  rather  serious  doubts  have  assailed  my 
mind  in  regard  to  the  succeeding  portion  of  this 
chapter,  as  to  how  far  the  weighty  matters  of 
geography  and  travel -description  may  be  treated 
informally.  Dare  we  "  speak  disrespectfully  of 
the  Equator,"  or  too  lightly  tread  over  Cancer  or 
Capricorn  ? 

But  the  home-returned  traveller  knows  that 
treatment  of  geography  and  travel  is  generally  in- 
formal—not to  say  casual — especially  among  our 


19 

good  English  folk,  and  at  dinner,  where  white 
shirt-fronts  do  gleam,  and  feminine  elegance  is 
displayed,  he  may  have  to  answer  somewhat  ele- 
mental questions  upon  the  whereabouts  of  this  or 
that  land,  region,  or  locality  he  has  visited,  or 
upon  the  nature  and  customs  of  its  particular 
inhabitants . 

Nor  is  this  confined  to  Society  chatter  alone  at 
such  pleasant  moments.  In  the  London  Board 
Room  perhaps  some  stout  and  comfortable  director 
of  possibly  half  a  dozen  companies  whose  opera- 
tions are  of  no  meanly  distributed  geographical 
range  may  ask  where  such'  and  such  a  country 
is,  with  most  complacent  ignorance  of  maps  and 
globes  ;  perhaps,  also*,  in  a  few  words  doing  what 
it  was  long  since  said'  we  could  not  do,  "  drawing 
up  an  indictment  against  a  whole  nation,"  for 
doubtless  weighty  (financial)  reasons  of  his  own. 
As  to  the  general  public,  it  goes  on  its  way  care- 
less of  where  places  are — except  that,  by  reason 
of  the  Great  War,  it  has  grown'  accustomed  to 
looking  at  the  maps  so  beneficially  inserted  in  the 
columns  of  our  daily  Press,  and  strives  to  hold 
the  balance  between  kilometres  and  miles. 

The  foregoing  lack  of  familiarity  with  the  round 
world  and  they  that  dwell  therein  is  especially 
true  of  the  lands  of  Spanish  America  (or  Latin 
America,  to  use  that  more  cumbrous  but  more 
accurate  term).  "  Where  in  the  world  is  Ecuador, 
or  Costa  Rica,  or  Paraguay?"  some  one  may 
impatiently  exclaim  if  we  mention  that  we  were 
held  up  by  quarantine  in  Guayaquil  on  account 


20  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

of  yellow  fever,  or  other  incident  of  other  spot. 
"Where  is  Bolivia?"  is  another  not  infrequent 
query,  but  generally  made  in  ignorance  of  its  first 
and  classical  utterance,  it  is  reputed,  in  the 
anecdote  relating  to  Lord  Palmerston  and  the 
President— many  years  ago — of  that  Republic. 

Some  think  Mexico  is  in  South  America,  and, 
no  doubt  drawing  their  ideas  from  their  or  their 
parents'  study  of  Prescott  in  the  Victorian  age, 
ask  if  the  Mexicans  really  wear  feathers  and  carry 
knives.  The  position  of  Peru  puzzles  many  good 
folk,  although  it  is  generally  believed  to  be  some- 
where in  South  America,  which  of  course  is  right. 
Chile,  again  ;  where  does  it  lie?  Did  not  some  one 
once  describe  Chile— if  you  look  at  the  map — as  a 
country  two  thousand  miles  long  and  two  inches 
wide?  Again,  striving  to  give  an  idea  of  the  vast 
length  of  Chile,  one  writer  of  the  country  has 
graphically  remarked  that  you  may  conceive  it  as 
a  "  long,  narrow  trough  of  which  one  end  could 
be  placed  at  Queenstown  and  the  other  near  New 
York,  but  along  which  luggage  could  not  be 
rolled."  No  offence  is  here  meant  to  the  enter- 
prising people  of  that  land,  who  resisted  so  stoutly 
the  pretensions  of  their  neighbours  of  Argentina 
in  order  that  this  narrow  width  might  not  be  pared 
down  still  closer,  a  contention  finally  ended  by 
the  arbitration  of  King  Edward  of  Britain. 

For  both  Argentina  and  Brazil  seem  to  have 
been  bent,  at  one  time  or  another,  on  carrying  out 
the  principle  that  to  him  who  hath  not  shall  be 
taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath,  for  both'  of 


AVEXIUA   CENTRAL,    RIO   DE  JANEIRO. 


Vil.  I.    To  face  p. 


SOME  CASUAL  GEOGRAPHY         21 

them  sprawl— geographically  that  is — across  the 
South  American  Continent  and  crowd  their  smaller 
neighbours  into  its  margins  or  corners,  if  crowd- 
ing be  possible  here.  As  for  Brazil,  it  must  have 
more  political  frontiers,  one  imagines,  than  any 
other  nation  in  the  world. 

The  traveller  sometimes  finds  it  necessary  to 
explain  that  Colombia  has  nothing  to  do  with 
British  Columbia.  It  is  a  republic  quite  un- 
associated  with  our  Imperial  outpost  of  British 
Columbia.  As  for  Venezuela,  only  those  who  have 
been  there  can  ever  be  expected  to  know  where  it 
is,  notwithstanding  that  it  is  the  part  of  South 
America  nearest  to  Europe  and  was  that  first 
sighted  by  Columbus.  The  Guianas  are  rightly 
associated  by  many  with  Demerara  sugar,  but 
Demerara,  it  has  to  be  mentioned,  is  not  the 
whole  of  British  Guiana,  and  there  are  in  addition 
French  and  Dutch  Guiana.  British  Guiana  and 
British  Honduras — which  latter,  let  us  remark,  is 
not  in  South  but  in  Central  America  (location  to 
be  explained  later) — are  the  only  foothold  of  the 
British  Empire  on  the  mainland  of  Spanish 
America.  Guiana,  moreover,  has  nothing  to  do 
with  Guinea,  in  Africa,  or  New  Guinea,  in  Asia. 
Few  people  at  home  know  where  these  places  are 
or  who  lives  there  or  what  they  do.  As  to  the 
first-named,  it  is  interesting  to  see  that  a  deputa- 
tion has  recently  arrived  from  the  colony  in  the 
Mother  Country,  to  remind  that  parent  of  her  off- 
spring's existence. 

Both  these  small  places— they  are  as  large  as 


22  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

England — are  perhaps  among  the  most  backward 
portions  of  the  Empire.  It  is  not  their  fault,  or 
not  alone.  It  is  largely  due  to  the  stupidity  or 
lack  of  interest  of  the  Home  Government.  It 
is  also  due,  in  general  terms,  to  the  stupidity  and 
ignorance  of  British  folk  in  general,  who  take  little 
interest  in  their  possessions  overseas,  and  who  from 
one  point  of  view  do  not  deserve  to  have  them. 
The  tropical  colonies  of  Britain,  and  among  them 
are  these  of  South  and  Central  America— not  to 
mention  the  magnificent  heritage  of  the  West 
Indies,  which  of  course  are  geographically  part  of 
America— are  most  valuable  charges,  most  essen- 
tial elements  of  the  national  food  supply.  They 
are  at  least  geographical  larders,  and  it  is 
time  they  were  much  more  fully  developed 
and  cared  for. 

It  is  well  to  recollect,  moreover,  politically,  that 
Britain  has  scarcely  given  an  efficient  object- 
lesson  of  development,  social  and  economic,  to  the 
backward  States  of  Spanish  America  in  her  control 
of  these  two  Crown  Colonies. 

But  we  digress.  If  the  geography  of  the  South 
American  States  is  nebulous  to  the  ordinary 
person  at  home,  how  much  more  so  is  that  of 
Central  America?  In  the  first  place,  it  may  be 
asked,  where  or  what  is  Central  America?  Many 
well-informed  people  do  not  know.  North 
America  and  South  America  are  easily  realizable 
as  geographical  entities,  but  where  can  a  third 
America  exist  ?  Central  America  is  not  the  centre 
of  the  South  American  Continent,  as  some  well- 


23 

meaning  people  think,  but  is  that  part  of  America 
lying  between  the  two  continents,  and  includes 
no  less  than  six  independent  Republics,  together 
with  British  Honduras.  The  Panama  Canal  cuts 
through  it ;  the  Tehuantepec  and  other  railways 
cross  it.  Thus  when  we  are  asked  where  is  Costa 
Rica  or  Nicaragua  or  Salvador,  Honduras  or 
Panama,  where  perhaps  the  latest  revolution  has 
just  broken  out,  or  the  Government  have  just  re- 
pudiated a  loan,  or  managed  to  pay  an  instalment 
of  the  interest  due  upon  a  loan,  we  may  reply  in 
Central  America. 

And  Paraguay— ah,  Paraguay  !  Where  is  it  ? 
And  Hayti,  too? 

Many  people  in  England  have  relatives  in 
Spanish  American  countries,  and  it  is  interesting 
to  be  able  to  inform  them  where  the  particular 
localities  are  situated,  and  how  to  get  there,  also 
the  distances  approximately  places  are  apart.  "  I 
have  a  cousin  who  is  Charge*  d'Affaires  in 
Revolutia,"  says  a  lady  at  a  reception.  "  I  do 
trust  he  has  not  been  injured  by  that  terrible  South 
American  earthquake  we  saw  in  the  paper  this 
morning."  We  are  able  to  assure  the  lady  that 
the  earthquake  was  in  San  Volcania,  at  least  two 
thousand  miles  from  the  enterprising  Republic 
where  her  relative  carried  on  his  doubtless  in- 
valuable diplomatic  duties.  "  Have  you  ever  been 

in (we  will  call  it  Santa  Andina)  ?  "  says  a 

stout,  bald-headed  gentleman,  who  looks  like  a 
company  promoter  (and  we  afterwards  found  that 
he  was  such),  referring  to  a  well-known  Spanish 


24  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

American  capital,  adding  that  he  thought  of  going 
there,  and  had  heard  that  no  great  difficulties 
attended  the  journey.  He  thought  oil  concessions 
were  to  be  obtained  there.  When  he  learned  that 
you  take  a  river  steamer,  then  a  train,  then  a 
canoe,  then  a  steamer  again,  and  lastly  a  mule, 
his  wanderlust  seemed  somewhat  to  abate.  The 
story  of  the  lady  who  had  a  relative  in  New  York, 
and  hoped  he  would  call  one  morning  on  the 
brother  of  another  person  present  who  lived  in 
Buenos  Ayres  has  often  been  told,  but  I  am  in- 
clined to  regard  it  as  far-fetched.  The  point  is 
that  the  lady,  knowing  that  both  places  were  in 
America,  imagined  they  must  be  in  easy  daily 
radius  of  each  other. 

The  traveller  who  knows  Spanish  America  and 
speaks  the  Spanish  language — which  language  is 
a  veritable  delight  when  you  know  it— will  often 
wish  that  English  people  would  set  out  to  acquire 
at  least  a  slight  knowledge  of  the  pronunciation 
of  Spanish  words  and  place-names.  He  does  not 
like  to  hear,  for  example,  Buenos  Ayres  spoken  of 
as  "  Boners'  Airs,"  or  Callao  as  "  Cally-oh  "  !  And 
the  pronunciation  of  senor  as  "  seenyor  "  is  most 
offensive,  Again,  why  will  the  English  Press  per- 
sist in  depriving  '-  senor  "  and  the  Spanish  letter 
"  ft  "  generally  of  its  •*,  or  in  using  Don  where 
Senor  should  be  used  (as  is  done  even  in  The 
Times],  or  in  the  rendering  of  the  Spanish  (or  its 
Italian  or  French  equivalent)  Viva!  as  "  long 
live."  It  does  not  mean  '-  long  live,"  but  "  live  " 
or  "  may  he  live,"  and  is  generally  followed  by 


X 

ATTRACTION  OF  SPANISH  25 

que  viva!  "  Let  him  live."  It  would  be  better 
translated  as  "  Hurrah  for  So-and-So."  However, 
the  Press  does  not  generally  treat  Spanish  America 
very  seriously.  There  is  an  opera  bouffe  element. 

The  Spanish  language  is  perhaps  the  most 
beautiful  and  pleasing  in  the  world,  when  we  take 
into  account  its  virility  and  brevity.  It  says  what 
it  means  at  once,  and  every  letter,  except  the 
aspirate,  in  every  word  is  pronounced.  It  is  a 
simple  language,  easily  learned.  It  is  spoken  over 
an  enormous  part  of  the  earth's  surface,  and  there 
is  little  variation  between  the  Spanish  of  Castile 
and  that  of  Spanish  America. 

When  we  converse — in  their  own  language — 
with  the  educated  Spanish  American  folk,  we  find 
them  full  of  wise  saws  and  modern  instances. 
They  are  shrewd  and  philosophical,  and  the  Spanish' 
language  abounds  with  proverbs  and  aphorisms 
applicable  to  the  things  of  everyday  life.  They 
are  born  statesmen  and  lawyers  and  orators .  They 
go  back  to  the  remote  classics  for  their  similes .  All 
this  is  very  delightful  in  its  way,  and  the  English- 
man, after  a  course  of  years  of  it  will  come  home 
and  think  his  own  countrymen  rather  stupid  and 
unimaginative ;  that  is  if  his  own  common  sense 
does  not  balance  their  own  more  solid  qualities 
against  the  more  surface  attainments.  What  he 
wishes  is  that  the  one  race  might  partake  more  of 
the  qualities  of  the  other,  and  vice  versa.  Oratory 
and  theory  cannot  replace  practical  politics  and 
justice,  but  we  miss  the  amenities. 
Mucha  tinta  y  poca  justicia  1 


26  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

so  says  the  Spanish  American  (or  the  Spaniard), 
referring  to  the  national  power  of  document-com- 
piling and  red  tape  ;  that  is  to  say  :  "  Much  ink 
and  little  justice." 

Nor  yet  can  the  most  delightful  spirit  of  hospi- 
tality make  amends  for  the  insufferable  defects  of 
the  fonda  and  the  inn,  and 


De  tu  casa  a  la  ajena 
Sal  con  la  barriga  llena  ! 


is  the  soundest  advice  in  Latin  America  to  the 
traveller  in  the  interior,  or,  as  one  would  say, 
"  From  your  own  to  a  stranger's  home,  go  forth 
with  a  well-filled  belly." 

The  Spanish  American  people,  as  we  have 
remarked,  are  of  a  poetical  and  sentimental 
temperament,  given  to  oratory,  and  they  produce 
many  poets,  many  of  which,  however,  would,  if 
criticism  is  harsh,  be  termed  versifiers.  They  are 
fond  of  what  might  be  termed  descriptive  em- 
broidery ;  what,  indeed,  one  of  their  own  race  has 
termed  desar olios  lyricos  ("  lyric  developments  "). 
Love  verses  are  an  absorbing  theme,  and  their 
small  magazines  overflow  therewith,  and  even  the 
daily  Press  does  not  disdain  such.  It  might  be 
said  that  versifying  in  Spanish  in  matters  amorous 
may  be  facile,  because  amores  (love),  flores 
(flowers),  olores  (perfume),  and  dolores  (grief)  all 
rhyme  !  One  cynical  Spanish  American  poet,  how- 
ever, has  propounded  the  following,  descriptive  of 
the  social  and  natural  ambient : 


LATIN  AMERICAN  ROMANTICS       27 

Flores  sin  olor 
Hombres  sin  honor 
Mujeres  sin  pudor  I 

That  is  to  say :  "  Flowers  without  perfume,  men 
without  honour,  women  without  modesty."  It  is 
true  that  the  flowers  in  the  New  World  here  some- 
times lacks  perfume,  where  we  might  have  expected 
to  find  such,  and  that  at  times  men  and  women 
lack  the  cardinal  virtues,  but  the  same  could  be 
said  anywhere,  and  is  merely  an  epigram. 

The  verse -making  of  the  young  poets  is  often 
erotic  and  neurotic,  addressed  to  the  object  of 
undying  affection,  or  to  the  shades  of  night,  or  the 
cruelty  of  destiny — which  tears  lovers  apart  or 
carries  them  off  to  early  graves.  In  this  connexion 
Byron  is  well  regarded  (but  let  us  say  nothing  dero- 
gatory of  Byron)  and  Shakespeare  appreciated. 

However,  it  is  to  be  recollected  that  these  are 
rather  symptoms  of  youth  in  a  nation,  and  if  the 
more  blase  and  practical  Briton — and  the  still  more 
practical  and  less  poetical  North  American — finds 
their  verse  hackneyed  (if  he  be  able  to  read  it, 
which  is  not  frequently  the  case),  this  sentiment  has 
its  valuable  psychical  attribute.  The  English, 
indeed,  are  regarded  by  the  Spanish  American  as 
of  a  romantic  temperament,  or  of  having  a  reputa- 
tion for  romance,  and  this  is  possibly  due  in  part 
to  Byron. 

But  let  it  not  be  forgotten  that  there  are  famous 
Latin  American  poets,  to  which  space  here  forbids 
even  the  barest  justice  to  be  done. 

The  Spanish  Americans  are  great  panegyrists, 


28  A^RECONNAISSANCE 

moreover.  The  most  extraordinary  adulations  of 
public  personages  are  made  and  published,  such  as 
it  might  be  supposed  would  cause  the  object  thereof 
to  blush.  The  late  President  Diaz  of  Mexico  was 
always  to  his  admirers — or  those  who  hoped  to 
gain  something  by  his  adulation,  and  this  it  is  not 
necessarily  unkind  to  say  is  often  the  motive  of  the 
panegyric — a  "  great  star  in  a  Pleiades  or  constel- 
lation of  the  first  magnitude,"  and  similar  matters 
are  found  in  all  the  republics.  A  stroke  of  ordinary 
policy  becomes  thus  "  an  acto  de  importancia  trans- 
cendental" which  sufficiently  translates  itself ;  and 
so  forth. 

Of  course,  it  is  the  case  that  the  Spanish' 
language  lends  itself  peculiarly  to  "  lyric  develop- 
ments"-; it  is  expressive  and  sonorous,  and  even 
the  uneducated  person  has  in  it  a  far  wider  range 
of  thought  and  expression  than  has  the  apparently 
unimaginative  and  tongue-tied  Briton,  or  American 
of  Anglo-Saxon  speech.  Upon  this  theme  we 
might  greatly  enlarge,  but  we  must  refrain. 

As  I  have  already  remarked,  the  general  con- 
ception of  the  Spanish  American  people  by  English 
folk  is  a  vague  one.  To  such  questions  or 
remarks  as  :  "  Are  they  mostly  Indians?"  or  "  I 
suppose  they  are  not  mainly  niggers,  or  at  least 
half  black?"  in  brief  terms,  the  reply  is  that 
the  Spanish  American  people  are  a  blend  of 
the  aboriginal  Indian  race — which  possessed  an 
early  civilization  of  its  own  in  certain  districts,  as 
in  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  has  many  valuable 
qualities—and  of  the  Spaniard,  or  in  Brazil  of  the 


SOCIAL  COMPOSITION  29 

Portuguese.  They  are  not  "half-breeds"  now. 
We  might  as  well,  in  a  sense,  call  the  English 
half-breeds,  because  we  are  a  mixture  of  Celt  and 
Saxon  and  Norman. 

The  "  Indians  "  of  Mexico  and  Peru— they  are, 
of  course,  not  Indian  at  all  in  reality,  that  was  an 
error  of  Columbus— had,  before  the  Spaniards 
destroyed  it,  a  fine  culture  of  their  own  and  prac- 
tised the  most  beautiful  arts.  As  to  the  modem 
culture,  or  that  of  the  upper  >  strata,  it  surprises 
good  cultured  English  folk  to  learn  that  in 
matters  of  serious  culture,  knowledge  and  social 
etiquette,  and  knowledge  of  the  world,  they  them- 
selves would  have  difficulty  in  holding  their  own. 
The  world,  or  outlook,  of  the  educated  man  or 
woman  of  Mexico,  Peru,  Colombia,  Brazil,  Argen- 
tina, Chile,  or  any  other  of  these  States,  is  a 
wider  one  than  that  of  the  British  middle -class 
folk :  that  great  respectable  body  of  persons  so 
closely  engaged  upon  their  own  affairs. 

Some  writers  have  deplored  the  separate 
autonomy  or  absence  of  "  unification  "  of  the 
Latin  American  States.  They  would  like  to  see 
a  "  United  States  of  South  America  "  or  a  Federa- 
tion of  Central  America. 

But  this  largely  arises,  perhaps,  from  the  pecu- 
liar ideas  of  hegemony  which  the  last  and  present 
century  brought  to  being.  We  were  to  have  vast 
empires.  Weaker  nations  were  to  be  controlled 
by  stronger.  There  were  to  be  great  commercial 
units.  Is  this  advisable,  or  will  it  be  possible? 
The  condition  of  the  world  after  the  Great  War 


80     .  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

would  seem  to  indicate  the  negative.  It  would 
seem  to  show  that  small  nations  have  their  own 
destiny  to  work  out. 

As  regards  Spanish  America,  its  different  States 
are,  in  general,  better  in  being  separated.  Both 
geographical  conditions  and  those  of  temperament 
support  this.  These  States,  or  their  capitals  and 
centres  of  population,  are  generally  divided  by 
Nature  from  each  other,  often  by  tremendous  bar- 
riers of  mountain  chains,  rivers  or  impenetrable 
forests.  How  could  a  single  or  centralized  govern- 
ment be  set  up  to  control  either  their  home  or 
foreign  policy?  Where  would  it  be,  and  how 
would  it  operate? 

It  might  be  said  that  similar  topographical  con- 
ditions obtain  in  the  case  of  the  United  States, 
Canada,  or  Australia,  which  prefer  to  live  as 
federations.  But  the  natural  geographical  barriers 
of  Spanish  America  are,  in  reality,  much  more 
formidable.  Again,  the  present  multiplicity  of 
states,  each  with  its  complement  of  president  and 
state  officers,  gives  opportunity  for  more  intensive 
political  training,  more  pleasing  social  life  and  a 
greater  general  opportunity  for  partaking  in 
government  by  the  people  than  does  a  centralized 
government . 

Let  us  thus  refrain  from  judging  too  hastily  or 
too  harshly  the  Spanish  American  people.  Their 
temperament,  their  environment  is  different  from 
ours.  They  have  not  chosen  or  been  able  to  follow 
the  more  prosaic,  more  useful  life  of  England  or 
North  America  in  the  commercial  age.  They 


POETICAL  PLACE-NAMES  31 

had  not  our  inventive,  our  mechanical  gifts.  Under 
their  warmer  skies  idealism  played  a  stronger  part. 
They  could  not  agree  to  live  together  unless  ideal- 
istic conditions  were  to  dominate  them— conditions 
which  were  impossible  of  course,  and  they  never 
were  able  to  oil  the  wheels  of  life  with  that  spirit 
of  compromise  which  providence— if  it  be  a  pro- 
vidential gift— gave  to  us.  Moreover,  they  have 
a  dreadful  history  of  oppression  behind  them,  and 
the  dead-weight  of  a  great  Indian  bulk  of  folk 
who  were  ruined  by  the  arrogant  Spaniards,  who 
despised  them  without  a  cause. 

Rather  let  us  see  that  they  are  endowed  with 
many  gifts,  and  that  a  different  phase  of  world- 
development  and  civilization  may  give  these  people 
an  opportunity  to  display  their  best  qualities,  of 
overcoming  their  serious  errors. 

The  thoughtful  traveller  will  find  matter  of 
interest  in  Spanish  America  wherever  he  journeys, 
in  the  delightful  place-names  he  encounters,  which 
a  little  trouble  will  enable  him  to  pronounce,  and 
often  whose  pleasing  origin  some  study  will  permit 
him  to  understand.  Here  are  no  duplications  of 
"  Paris,"  "  Berlin,"  "  London  "  ;  no  monstrosities 
of  "  Copperville,"  "  Petroleumville,"  "  Irontown," 
and  so  forth,  such  as  in  Anglo  America,  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  the  developers  of  that  part  of 
America  in  some  cases  hastily  assigned  to  their 
places  of  settlement  or  industry,  either  through  lack 
of  or  laziness  of  search  for  original  topographical 
nomenclature.  Here  in  Spanish  America  its  old 
and  rightful  folk  had  given  poetical  baptism1  to 


32  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

their  localities.  Such  were  often  the  abiding  places 
of  deities  or  spirits.  Yonder  mountain,  for 
example,  was  "  the  home  of  the  wind  god  "  of  the 
Quechuas  ;  yonder  point  the  "  place  of  the  meeting 
of  the  waters  "  of  the  Aztecs,  or  the  "  field  of  the 
fruitful,"  or  the  "  forest  of  the  dark  spirits  "  ;  and 
thus  is  imprinted  upon  them  for  all  time  the  poetic 
fancy  of  their  founders.  There  rises  the  "  snow- 
forehead  "  of  the  Andes,  there  is  the  "  canyon  of 
a  thousand  ripples,"  there  is  the  "  pomp  a  of  the 
Holy  Saints."  The  names  flow  liquidly  from  the 
lips  of  the  Indian,  perhaps  our  harsher  tongues  can 
ill  articulate  them  in  comparison. 

Moreover,  let  us  remark  the  wealth  of  topo- 
graphical nomenclature,  both  in  the  native 
languages  of  Mexico  and  Peru,  and  all  the  sister- 
hood of  states,  and  in  the  later  Spanish  tongue. 
Every  hill,  hill-slope,  stream1,  wood,  plain,  valley, 
desert,  every  kind  of  hill,  feature  and  topographical 
change  of  form  is  designated. 

The  present  chapter,  it  is  seen,  is,  in  some  small 
degree,  designed  to  prime  the  intending  traveller 
to  Spanish  America — or,  if  not  the  traveller,  the 
person  athirst  for  information  concerning  the 
region — with  such  geographical  detail  as  he  or  she 
may  assimilate  without  mental  indigestion.  In 
accordance  with  this  purpose  we  may  consider  a 
few  figures,  which  are  indispensable  if  we  are  to 
gather  any  intelligent  idea  of  extent  and  distance. 

There  are  twenty  independent  republics  of 
Spanish,  or  rather  Latin  America,  ranging  from 
the  enormous  Brazil,  with  an  area  of  three  and 


THE  ANCIENT   CIVILIZATION  :   STONE   STEL/E   AT   QUIRIGUA,   CENTRAL   AMERICA. 

Vol.  I.     lo  face  p.  3:. 


AREAS   AND   POPULATIONS  33 

a  quarter  million  square  miles,  down  to  little 
Salvador,  with  only  seven  thousand  two  hundred 
and  twenty-five  square  miles.  Among  these  twenty 
States  we  include  Hayti  and  Santo  Domingo,  places 
which,  although  often  mentioned  with  a  smile  when 
independent  republics  -are  spoken  of,  are  never- 
theless worthy  of  geographical  respect. 

Between  these  great  extremes  of  area  mentioned 
above  we  have  such  countries  as  Argentina,  with 
over  a  million  square  miles,  and  Mexico,  Bolivia 
and  Peru,  with  from  nearly  to  over  seven  hundred 
thousand  square  miles,  Colombia,  Venezuela  and 
Chile,  with  from  over  four  to  under  three  hun- 
dred thousand,  Ecuador  and  Uruguay  with  half 
and  a  third  those  areas,  and  the  remaining  nine 
States  of  from  about  seventy  thousand  square: miles 
down  to  about  a  tenth  thereof. 

The  total  area  thus  covered  of  this  very  diversi- 
fied part  of  the  earth's  surface  is  about  eight  and  a 
quarter  million  square  miles,  with  a  total  popula- 
tion in  the  neighbourhood  of  eighty  million  souls. 

It  is  of  interest  further  to  recollect  that  Brazil  is 
larger  than  the  United  States  or  Canada,  or  larger 
than  Europe  without  Russia.  Even  the  little  but 
progressive  country  of  Uruguay,  crowded  by  Brazil 
and  Argentina  into;  a  corner  of  the  Atlantic  coast, 
is  much  larger  than  England.1 

1  The  good  Church  of  England,  in  caring  for  her  sons  in 
Spanish  America,  is  perforce  obliged  to  have  regard  to  the  vast 
distances  she  must  cover  here.  Thus  the  Bishop  of  the  Falk- 
land Islands'  flock — his  diocese — extends  over  the  not  incon- 
siderable territory  covering  the  west  coast  of  South  America, 
including  Chile,  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador  and  so  forth — a  atrip 

VOL.   I.  3 


34  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

It  is  to  be  recollected  that  the  areas  given  to 
these  countries  themselves  in  some  cases  include 
territory  claimed  by  their  immediate  neighbours, 
for  there  are  unsettled  boundaries  and  frontiers, 
especially  in  the  Amazon  Valley.  They  must  be 
regarded  as  only  approximate. 

The  same  remark  holds  good  with  regard  to 
the  population  of  these  States.  Exact  enumeration 
is  impossible,  for  the  reasons  both  that  the  inhabi- 
tants are  often  enormously  scattered  over  vast  terri- 
tories and  that  they  often  refuse  to  be  numbered, 
or  escape  the  census,  fearing  that  they  are  to  be 
taxed,  or  pressed  into  military  service  against  their 
will,  which  latter  condition  has  been  a  curse  of 
Spanish  America  all  through  its  history. 

Much  of  our  earlier  knowledge  of  Northern 
South  America  and  Mexico  was  due  to  Humboldt, 
the  famous  German  savant  and  traveller.  He  was 


some  five  or  six  thousand  miles  long.  As  I  formed  one  of  a 
committee  with  the  good  bishop  to  endeavour  to  raise  funds 
among  English  business  men  to  carry  on  his  work  (and  inci- 
dentally to  lecture  on  the  subject),  I  had  the  matter  brought 
specially  to  my  notice.  Again,  the  Bishop  of  Honduras,  in 
a  recent  letter  to  The  Times,  appealed  for  funds  for  a  vessel, 
by  means  of  which  he  might  visit  his  flock  over  the  vast  diocese 
that  included  Honduras  and  British  Honduras,  Costa  Rica, 
Salvador,  Nicaragua  and  Panama. 

And  again,  in  giving  evidence  before  the  Select  Committee 
of  the  House  of  Commons  to  inquire  into  the  Putumayo  rubber 
scandals,  which  I  was  called  upon  as  a  witness  to  do,  concerning 
the  Indians  of  Peru,  it  was  necessary  to  inform  the  gentlemen 
of  the  Commission  that  the  easiest  way  of  reaching  Eastern 
from  Western  Peru  was  to  take  steamer  up  the  Pacific  coast, 
cross  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  go  home  across  the  Atlantic  to 
Liverpool,  and  come  back  again  to  the  Amazon  and  go  up  that 
river  ! 


HUMBOLDT  35 

born  in  Berlin  in  1769,  but  it  would  appear  that 
Berlin  was  certainly  not  his  "  spiritual  home." 
Paris  was  the  only  centre  congenial  to  him,  and 
he  settled  there  in  1808,  after  his  travels,  in  order 
to  be  able  to  secure  the  needful  scientific  co-opera- 
tion for  the  publication  of  the  results  of  his  work. 
"  The  French  capital  he  had  long  regarded  as  his 
true  home.  There  he  found  not  only  scientific 
sympathy,  but  the  social  stimulus  which  his 
vigorous  and  healthy  mind  eagerly  craved.  He 
Was  equally  in  his  element  as  the  lion  of  the  salons 
and  as  the  savant  of  the  institute  and  the  obser- 
vatory. The  provincialism  of  his  native  city  was 
odious  to  him.  He  never  ceased  to  rail  against  the 
bigotry  without  religion,  aestheticism  without  cul- 
ture, and  philosophy  without  common  sense,  which 
he  found  dominant  on  the  banks  of  the  Spree. 
He  sought  relief  from  this  '  nebulous  atmosphere  ' 
in  Paris."  ' 

It  was  by  an  accident  that  Humboldt  directed 
his  steps  to  Spanish  America,  for  he  had  hoped, 
with  Bonpland,  to  join  Bonaparte  in  Egypt,  but 
in  Madrid  he  determined  to  make  Spanish  America 
the  scene  of  his  explorations.  He  explored  the 
Orinoco,  crossed  the  frozen  Cordillera  to  Quito, 
investigated  the  mighty  avenue  of  the  Ecuadorian 
volcanoes — the  farm  he  occupied  still  exists  at  their 
foot— and  did  much  else  in  South  America  and  in 
Mexico,  geological,  archaeological,  and  botanical. 

The  foregoing  glimpse  of  Berlin  which  Hum- 
boldt's  view  of  his  native  city  affords  is  not  without 

*  Vide  Humboldt,  Encyc.  Brit.,  Eleventh  Edition,  1910. 


86  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

interest  to-day,  when  the  savagery  of  the  German 
character — a  curious  development  of  that  earlier 
obscure  philosophy — has  been  brought  so  promi- 
nently before  the  world  and  has  brought  Germany 
to  moral  ruin,  and  what  is  in  part  financial  ruin 
and  the  loss  of  her  colonies. 

As  has  been  said,  methods  of  travel  here  are 
less  inviting  to  the  ordinary  tourist  than  the  well- 
prepared  fields  of  the  Old  World.  Its  hotels—apart, 
perhaps,  from  a  few  here  and  there— are  primitive, 
its  railways  are  conducted  for  commercial  purposes, 
there  are  no  planned  centres  of  delight  and  ease. 
No  roads  traverse  the  countryside  whereon  the 
motor-tourist  may  spend  his  hours.  Between 
the  primitive  mule-trail  or  the  bypath  which  the 
simple  Indian  has  found  sufficient  for  his  purposes 
since  the  world  began,  and  the  railway,  there  is 
no  via  media.  The  coaching  days  of  England 
never  had  their  counterpart  in  Spanish  America. 
The  cab  alter  o,  the  horseman -gentleman,  trans- 
planted from  old  Spain,  and  all  he  represented 
embodied,  and  still  embodies,  the  philosophy  of 
the  road.  Here  no  one  may  walk  the  countryside, 
except  the  necessitous  Indian.  The  dust  would 
smother  him,  the  naked  rocks  would  cut  his  feet, 
he  would  lose  caste  for  being  on  foot.  No 
"  local  "  botanist,  antiquarian,  nature -lover  sallies 
forth  from  Spanish -American  villages.  The 
country  squire  is  unknown,  the  landed  estate  is  a 
hacienda,  a  hive  of  peones,  dependent  body  and 
soul  on  the  will  of  their  masters.  There  are  no 
week-end  cottages ;  the  "  picnic,"  though  its 


PHILOSOPHY  OF  THE  ROAD         37 

English  name  is  not  unknown,  is  a  rare  event. 
'Sport,  where  it  exists,  is  an  institution  engrafted 
from  abroad. 

Woman  here  is  much  enclosed  in  the  seclusion 
of  her  home,  save  when  she  ventures  to  the 
temple  and  the  priestly  Mass,  or  to  well-chaperoned 
and  formal  events— she  dare  not  traverse  the  road 
alone,  and,  it  may  be  said,  with  sufficient  reason  ! 
The  Spanish  American  youth,  with  his  patent 
leather  shoes  and  breadth  of  cuff  and  collar,  loves 
not  to  leave  the  easy  pavements  of  his  towns,  or 
their  bars  and  cafe's,  for  the  unknown  world  beyond, 
whose  beginning  is  the  squalid  Indian  quarter 
which  fringes  the  place  around — unless  indeed  he 
may  have  turned  revolutionist,  a  phase  which  does 
not  usually  take  place  much  before  middle  age, 
when  the  Latin  American  generally  takes  on  his 
serious  political  habit.  Then  indeed  he  must  take 
to  the  road,  unless  a  fortunate  golpe  de  estado  i 
shall  complete  the  uprising  within  the  city  plaza. 

The  inland  method  of  travel  is  the  horse  or 
mule  :  the  saddle .  Unfortunately  the  horse  is  not 
very  happy  here.  In  the  Day  of  Judgment,  if 
the  beasts  of  the  field  ever  bear  witness  against 
man,  the  horse  will  have  a  severe  indictment  to 
bring  against  the  Spanish  American  people.  He 
and  his  relative  the  mule  have  nowhere  perhaps 
been  so  dreadfully  ill-treated  as  in  these  lands  of 
mountains  an'd  deserts.  In  Mexico  we  see  him 
ridden  to  death  by  the  callous  vaquero  ;  his  thin 
and  starving  body  passing  like  a  swift  shadow 

'  Coup  d'ttat. 


38  A  RECONNAISSANCE 

across  the  wilderness  under  the  stimulus  of  enor- 
mous spurs.  Or  he  is  gored  to  death  in  the  bull- 
ring. In  South  America  he  climbs,  with  enormous 
loads,  the  dizzy  ridges  of  the  Andes,  under  the 
blows  and  curses  of  the  arriero,  and,  stumbling 
over  the  precipice,  finds  rest  at  times  a  thousand 
feet  below,  where  his  mummified  carcass  remains 
a  warning  to  his  kind.  Or  he  passes  his  life  on 
high  uplands  where  pasture  is  unknown  :  his  fodder 
a  little  dry  straw. 

The  fact  is  that  the  Spanish  American  lands, 
in  great  part,  did  not  seem  fitted  by  nature  for 
the  equine  race,  and  there  was  no  horse  in  America 
before  the  Europeans  introduced  the  animal  there. 
There  was  nothing  but  the  llama,  the  friend  of  the 
Indian,  which  is  not  ridden,  but  bears  a  small 
burden.  The  Indian  himself  at  first  displayed 
great  terror  of  the  horse  (especially  with  an 
armoured  Iberian  on  its  back).  He  himself  was 
accustomed  to  carrying  his  burdens.  When  he 
was  told  to  take  a  horse  he  said  :  "No,  horses  get 
tired;  we  do  not."  When  a  Spaniard  rode  across 
the  Isthmus  of  Panama  upon  a  jackass  he  met 
some  Indians,  and  the  animal  brayed,  and  the 
Indians  fell  down  in  terror  and  offered  up  their 
gold  ornaments  ! 

Yet  the  Latin  Americans  are  perhaps  the  most 
expert  of  horsemen,  and  train  and  manage  their 
steeds  as  no  one  else  can. 

Spanish  America  is  not  a  land  for  the  huntsman, 
not  a  land  of  big  game.  Its  zoology  is  stinted. 
The  lion  and  the  tiger  are  represented  only  by 


TRAVEL  39 

some  almost  insignificant  felines,  and  the  other 
huge  quadrupeds  of  the  sportsman's  rifle  came  not 
to  being  in  the  New  World,  or  deserted  it  by  now 
fallen  land  bridges  before  their  skilled  tormentor 
appeared  upon  the  earth.  There  is,  relatively,  but 
little  game,  and  the  traveller  who  might  think  to 
subsist  upon  it  in  his  passage  through  the  wilds 
will  do  well  to  ponder  the  experience  of  the  early 
Conquistadores,  some  of  which  have  been  set  down 
briefly  in  these  pages. 

Thus  far  the  picture  of  travel  here.  There  are 
phases  on  the  other  side  to  be  considered.  It  is 
the  explorer,  the  pioneer,  who  will  find  material 
for  his  desires  in  these  lands.  The  geographer, 
the  antiquarian,  the  naturalist,  the  ethnologist  has 
before  him  a  field  which  is  the  equal  of  any  region, 
and  the  engineer,  that  most  practical  and  valuable 
of  travellers,  has  work  before  hirn  in  this  score  of 
independent  states  whose  magnitude  has,  so  far, 
no  limit. 


CHAPTER    II 
A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

IT  would  be  manifestly  impossible,  in  the  present 
work,  to  enter  in  detail  upon  the  wide  field  of  the 
history  of  the  Spanish  American  States.  Yet,  just 
as  in  order  to  gain  an  intelligent  idea  topo- 
graphically of  the  region  we  must  refer  to  its 
main  geographical  features  and  disposition,  so  must 
we  cast  a  glance  at  its  historical  outlines.  Those 
readers  who  are  drawn  on  to  fill  in  the  detail  have 
ample  material  at  hand  in  the  books  recently  pub- 
lished on  the  Latin  American  States.1 

The  beginnings  of  history  and  of  geography  are, 
of  course,  inextricably  interwoven,  and  in  the  case 
of  America  this  is  markedly  so.  America,  in  a 
sense,  was  discovered  by  accident,  and  its  first  dis- 
coverers did  not  know  they  had  brought  to  being 
a  new  continent.  Columbus,  to  his  dying  day, 
believed  it  was  India  he  had  reached,  which  he 
had  set  out  to  reach,  and  would  not  be  persuaded 
to  the  contrary. 

On  the  maps  of  the  earlier  geographers  there 

was,  in  fact,  no  room  for  America.      From  the 

shores  of  Europe  and  Africa  to  those  of  Cathay — 

1  Each  volume  of  the  South  American  Series  contains  such. 

40 


COLOMBUS  41 

the  old,  mediaeval,  and  still  the  poetical  name  for 
China,  the  great  Asiatic  coast — stretched  one  sea, 
the  Western  Ocean,  broken  by  some  small  islands 
and  Cipango,  or  Japan.  Scholars  and  dreamers, 
studying  isolated  passages  in  cryptic  and  classic 
writings,  or  arguing  from  general  principles,  in 
which  the  wish  was  at  times  father  to  the  thought, 
believed  that  by  sailing  west  India  could  be 
reached . 

These  dreams  of  poets  and  the  beliefs  of 
scholars  crystallized  in  the  mind  of  the  Genoese 
sailor,  Columbus,  a  man  of  humble  origin,  and 
after  many  disappointments  and  disillusions,  in  the 
interviewing  of  kings  and  high  personages  for  aid 
and  patronage  (among  them  the  King  of  England, 
but  England  with  characteristic  lack  of  imagination 
would  have  none  of  it,  and  the  King  of  Portugal, 
who  tried  to  cheat  him),  was  enabled  to  set  sail  by 
aid  of  the  Queen  of  Spain — women  having  more 
imagination  than  men — in  three  small  vessels,  and 
made  his  great  and  memorable  landfall  in  the  New 
World  on  October  12,  1492,  in  the  Bahamas. 

These  islands  Columbus  and  his  officers  believed 
to  be  those  described  by  Marco  Polo,  as  forming 
the  eastern  end  of  Asia ;  and  thus  arose  the  name 
of  "  Las  Indias,"  the  Indies,  which  America  long 
retained. 

As  a  result  of  this  discovery,  a  controversy  arose 
between  Spain  and  Portugal,  for,  in  1454,  the 
Pope  had  given  the  Portuguese — by  what  right 
he  himself  doubtless  best  knew — exclusive  control 
of  exploration  and  conquest  on  the  road  to  the 


42  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

Indies,  although  his  Bull  had  in  view  only  the 
eastern  route.  Now,  however,  "spheres  of 
influence"  might  easily  clash.  The  two  Powers 
repaired  again  to  the  Pope,  successor  of  the  former, 
and  he,  drawing  a  line  across  the  map  of  the  world 
from  north  to  south,  in  a  position  west  of  the 
Azores  a  hundred  leagues,  awarded  Spain  every- 
thing that  might  lie  beyond  it.  The  Pope  was 
a  Spaniard.  The  Portuguese  did  not  think  the 
award  fair.  (It  might  have  been  mentioned  that 
the  Portuguese  King,  his  "  especial  friend,"  had 
treacherously  endeavoured  to  forestall  Columbus 
by  dispatching  a  caravel  on  his  proposed  route 
secretly,  instead  of  helping  him,  a  futile  errand, 
however.)  They  protested,  and  by  common  con- 
sent the  line  was  shifted  to  370  leagues  west  of 
the  Cape  Verde  Islands,  corresponding  to-day  to 
the  5Oth  degree  of  longitude. 

Such  a  line  cuts  South  America  across  the 
mouth  of  the  Amazon,  and  the  Spaniards  cfaimed 
the  right  to  exclude  all  other  people  and  all  trade 
but  their  own  from  beyond  this  line. 

The  subsequent  conquest  and  discovery  of 
America  embodies  some  of  the  most  romantic 
and  stirring  episodes  in  history.  In  his  last  voyage 
Columbus  explored  the  West  Indies  and  reached 
South  America,  landing  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Orinoco,  and  he  sailed  along  the  coast  of  the 
Caribbean  and  Central  America  to  Nombre  de  Dios 
—"Name  of  God  "—near  Colon.  Henry  VII  of 
England— who  had  declined  to  help  Columbus — 
now  kindly  permitted  John  Cabot  to  sail,  in  1499, 


THE   ELUSIVE   "STRAIT'  43 

who  discovered  Newfoundland  and  did  other  valu- 
able exploits.  Hispaniola  was  the  first  Spanish 
Settlement,  on  the  Island  of  Hayti,  and  this  spread 
to  the  mainland.  In  1513  Vasco  Nunez  de 
Balboa  crossed  the  Isthmus  of  Darien  and  Panama 
and  beheld  the  "  South  Sea,"  as  described  in  our 
chapter  upon  Central  America.  The  insistent  hope 
of  a  "  strait "  or  passage  through  these  lands, 
giving^  way  to  the  Spice  Islands  of  the  Indies, 
was  now  given  up,  and  when  Magellan,  in  1520, 
passed  through  the  strait  which  bears  his  name, 
and  sailed  across  the  Pacific,  it  was  understood 
that  a  vast  continent  and  a  vast  ocean  divided 
the  world  from  Asia  here,  a  new  world,  and  that 
lying  mainly  within  the  sphere  of  influence  which 
the  Pope  had  so  generously  assigned  to  Spain. 

With  regard  to  this  obsession  of  Colombus  that 

westward  lay  the  shortest  route  to  India,  and  the 

insistent   idea   of   a    strait,   have   not   these   been 

materialized  in  the   Panama   Canal,   and  are  not 

,  these  ancient  mariners  vindicated  to-day  ? 

The  New  World  now  belonged  to  Spain.  Per- 
haps the  first  purpose  of  the  Spaniards  was  trade 
with  the  Indies,  but  their  main  object  was  that  of 
gold,  to  be  gained  by  slave  labour.  They  could 
not  themselves  work  in  the  tropics,  even  if  they 
had  had  any  desire  for  manual  labour,  which  they 
had  not.  However,  they  began  to  introduce  Euro- 
pean plants  and  animals  into  Cuba  and  Hispaniola, 
a  service  which  was  of  enormous  value  later  to 
America,  which  possessed  but  a  meagre  range  of 
staple  food  products  and  no  beasts  of  burden  or 


44  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

bovines.  But  gold— that  was  what  they  wanted. 
The  shallow  deposits  of  the  island  were  soon  ex- 
hausted, as  were  the  poor  willing  Indians,  killed 
off  by  forced  labour.  The  barbarous  treatment  of 
the  aborigines  of  the  New  World  by  the  Spaniards 
—and  the  Portuguese — is  one  of  the  most  dreadful 
blots  on  the  history  of  America,  indeed  of  the 
world. 

The  easily  gotten  gold  being  exhausted,  it  was 
necessary  to  go  farther  afield.  The  Darien  Settle- 
ment was  transferred  to  Panama,  the  coasts  of 
Yucatan  and  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  were  explored 
by  Cordova  and  Gri jalva,  from  Cuba,  and  in  1519 
the  great  Conquest  of  Mexico  was  entered  upon 
by  Cortes. 

So  far  the  Spaniards  had  found  little  difficulty 
in  subduing  the  Indians  to  their  will,  the  inoffensive 
islanders,  and  Caribs,  which  latter  became  almost 
exterminated.  The  Indian  folk  of  these  islands 
were  generally  a  simple  and  credible  race,  who  at 
first  looked  upon  the  white  man  as  a  demi-god, 
but  these  simple  children  of  the  soil  were  treated 
with  utmost  callousness  and  barbarity.  There  is 
an  example  in  the  treatment  of  the  natives  of 
Watling  Island  in  the  Bahamas,  which,  as  before 
remarked,  was  the  first  point  in  the  New  World 
trodden  by  Columbus.  Of  this  land  and  its  folk 
the  explorer  wrote  to  Ferdinand  and  Isabella : 
"  These  beautiful  islands  excel  all  other  lands.  The 
natives  love  their  neighbours  as  themselves,  their 
faces  are  always  smiling,  their  conversation  is  the 
sweetest  imaginable,  and  they  are  so  gentle  and 


ABUSE   OF  THE  NATIVES  45 

affectionate  that  I  swear  to  your  Highness  there  is 
no  better  people  in  the  world."  But  what  was 
the  lot  of  these  folk?  The  Spaniards  wanted 
further  labour  in  the  mines  of  Hispaniola,  and 
to  get  these  natives  there  they,  trading  on  a 
characteristic  love  of  the  people  for  their 
ancestors  and  departed  relatives,  promised  to  con- 
vey them  to  the  heavenly  shores,  where  these  were 
imagined  as  dwelling ;  and  so,  treacherously  get- 
ting them  on  board  the  ships,  they  were  taken 
away  to  the  mines,  where  it  is  said  40,000 
perished  under  starvation  and  the  lash. 

The  natives  of  Mexico  were  people  of  a  dif- 
ferent stamp.  The  Aztecs  were  pueblo  or  town 
Indians,  highly  organized  as  soldiers,  skilled  in 
arts  and  crafts,  with  a  developed  civilization  and 
certain  intellectuality.  They  were  highland  folk, 
the  Mexican  plateau  lying  at  seven  to  eight 
thousand  feet  above  sea  level,  protected  by 
mountain  fastnesses.  It  was,  in  fact,  an  empire 
of  the  New  World  such  as,  in  some  respects,  might 
compare  with  those  ancient  semi-barbaric  empires 
of  the  Old  World,  in  times  more  ancient.  Its  con- 
quest by  Cortes  was  an  affair  of  great  enterprise 
and  toil,  entailing  heavy  loss  and  suffering  on  the 
part  of  the  Spaniards,  and  at  one  time  their  defeat, 
from  which  only  a  superhuman  rally  saved  them, 
at  the  Battle  of  Otumba.  There  was  one  specially 
weak  point  about  the  Aztec  rule.  It  was  a  hege- 
mony, exercised  over  various  other  Mexican  races, 
who  hated  Montezuma,  the  Aztec  Emperor,  and 
his  people.  Cortes  was  skilful  enough  to  take 


46  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

advantage  of  this  flaw  in  the  Mexican  armour,  to 
fan  the  jealousies  of  the  subject  tribes,  and  enlist 
therri  to  march  against  Tenochtitlan,  the  capital 
of  Mexico.  These  allied  Indians,  when  the  place 
fell,  themselves  committed  the  most  unheard-of 
barbarities  on  the  Aztec  population,  such  as  shocked 
the  Spaniards,  who  were  unable  to  restrain  them. 

The  Conquest  of  Mexico  was  effected  by  1521, 
and  the  success,  the  romance,  the  adventure,  and 
the  objects  of  gold  and  silver  sent  by  Cortes  to 
Spain,  and  the  loot  of  the  soldiers,  fired  the  imag- 
ination of  the  Spaniards  in  Hispaniola  and  Darien 
to  other  quests.  The  settlers  at  Panama  had 
heard  of  another  empire  where  gold  was  to  be 
had  for  the  taking,  perhaps  richer  and  greater  even 
than  that  of  the  Aztecs.  This  was  Peru,  and 
Francisco  Pizarro  and  Diego  Amalgro  set  sail  from 
Panama  to  explore  and  conquer  that  unknown 
region  along  the  sunset  shores  of  America  to  the 
south . 

This  adventure  too  was  an  arduous  one,  not  by 
reason  of  the  opposition  of  savage  natives,  for  the 
Incas  of  Peru  were  a  gentle  and  philosophical 
people,  animated  by  a  remarkable  social  system, 
and  they  offered  little  resistance  to  the  white  men 
and  the  formidable  men-animals,  or  horsemen,  and 
their  guns.  It  was  famine  that  assailed  Pizarro  and 
his  followers,  and  insufficient  support.  Also  he, 
like  Cortes,  had  to  contend  with  the  jealousies  and 
double-dealing  of  the  Spanish  Governor  of  the 
Indies.  As  for  Peru,  its  coast  was  barren,  as  it 
is  to-day,  and  only  after  surmounting  the  dreadful 


THE   INCA  EMPIRE  47 

fastness  of  the  Andes,  amid  the  inclement  climate 
of  a  region  twelve  to  fifteen  thousand  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea,  was  the  Inca  Empire  reached 
and  subdued.  Here  lay  Cuzco,  the  Mecca  of  Peru, 
and  Cajamarca,  a  more  northern  capital.  The 
stores  of  gold  recovered  seem  to  have  filled  these 
Spaniards'  expectations,  and  great  renown  was  the 
result  of  this  conquest,  which  was  completed  by 

I533- 

These  exploits  were  followed  by  a  period  of 
sFrife  among  the  Spaniards,  and  Pizarro  was  mur- 
dered, after  founding  Lima,  the  capital  of  Peru. 
But  in  1536  the  regions  lying  between  Peru  and 
Panama,  which  to-day  we  know  as  Ecuador  and 
Colombia,  were  explored  and  conquered,  the  first 
by  Sebastian  de  Benalcazar,  the  second  by  Jimenez 
de  Quesada.  Here  were  dwelling  other  advanced 
people  or  tribes.  Quito,  the  capital  of  Ecuador, 
had  been  the  home  of  the  Shiris,  a  cultured  people 
who  were  overthrown  by  the  Incas  before  the 
Spanish  advent.  The  city  was  joined  to  Cuzco, 
eleven  hundred  miles  to  the  south,  by  the  famous 
Inca  roads,  one  along  the  Cordillera,  the  other 
along  the  coast.  Some  early  Spanish  historian 
delighted  to  speak  of  these  roads  as  equal  to  those 
of  the  Romans,  but  this  was  an  exaggeration. 
Colombia  was  the  culture-area  of  the  Chibchas. 
The  Spaniards  had  heard  of  a  further  great  empire, 
a  rich  El  Dorado,  in  this  region,  and  encouraged 
by  the  ease  with  which  Pizarro  had  conquered  Peru, 
they  made  their  way  up  the  Magdalena  River  from 
the  Caribbean  Sea.  A  pleasing  land  and  much 


48  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

gold  was  encountered,  after  severe  hardships,  the 
people  being  of  some  considerable  degree  of 
civilization,  although  not  of  the  status  of  the  Aztec 
or  the  Inca.  The  richest  plums,  in  fact,  had  fallen. 
Quesada  named  this  region  New  Granada,  with  its 
capital  at  Bogota. 

There  still  remained  the  conquest  of  the  huge 
territory  south  of  Peru,  known  as  Chile,  and  this, 
attempted  by  Almagro  in  1537,  was  carried  out 
by  Pedro  de  Valdivia,  who,  however,  was  checked 
by  the  redoubtable  Araucanian  Indians.  These 
form  one  of  the  chief  admixtures  of  the  Chileans 
to-day,  a  hardy  and  enterprising  nation,  in  contrast 
with  the  Peruvians  of  a  more  sentimental  tempera- 
ment, with  a  basis  of  the  Quichua  Indians  of  the 
Incas.  Terrible  excesses  were  committed  upon 
the  Indians  on  these  expeditions.  A  terrible  end 
was  visited  upon  the  Spanish  leader  by  the  Indians . 
"  You  have  come  for  gold,"  said  the  savage  chief 
who  captured  him.  "You  shall  have  your  fill." 
And  he  caused  molten  burning  gold  to  be  poured 
into  his  mouth.  Then  he  was  cut  to  pieces  with 
sharpened  oyster  shells. 

From  the  Southern  Andes,  the  Spaniards,  in  the 
following  years,  descended  to  the  great  plains 
which  now  form  the  republics  of  the  River  Plate, 
Argentine,  Uruguay  and  Paraguay.  The  explor- 
ation of  Brazil  had  been  begun  in  1510,  and  the 
region  was  traversed  by  Orellana  in  his  descent 
of  the  Amazon  from  Quito,  and  it  was  gradually 
settled  by  the  Portuguese. 

The  lands  lying  between  Panama  and  Mexico, 


DESTRUCTION  OF  ANCIENT  CULTURES  49 

which  to-day  form  the  Central  American  States, 
Guatemala,  Costa  Rica  and  others,  were  con- 
quered after  the  fall  of  Mexico.  Here  were  evi- 
dences of  a  splendid  past,  in  the  beautiful  temples 
of  sculptured  stone  found  in  their  forests  and 
deserts,  ruins  even  then  abandoned.  These 
remains  astounded  Europe  j  when  they  were  first 
revealed . 

Thus  did  all  this  enormous  region  of  Latin 
America,  from  tropical  Mexico — indeed,  from  Cali- 
fornia—to the  frigid  extremity  of  Patagonia,  fall 
into  the  possession  of  Spain  and  Portugal.  In 
some  respects  it  is  a  dreadful  history.  The 
Spaniards  overthrew  civilizations  in  Mexico  and 
Peru  which  in  many  respects  were  superior  to  their 
own,  civilizations  that  had  developed  marvellously 
without  the  resources  that  the  Old  World  com- 
manded, for  there  was  neither  ox  nor  horse, 
nor  even  iron  nor  gunpowder.  The  Spaniards 
destroyed  everything  that  these  people  had  done. 
For  centuries  unknown  they  had  evolved  their  arts 
and  crafts  and  laws  ;  laws,  in  the  case  of  the  Incas 
of  Peru,  far  more  beneficial  and  democratic  than 
anything  Europe  had  produced  at  that  period,  and 
millions  of  these  people  were  most  ruthlessly 
destroyed . 

To  read  the  accounts  of  the  happenings  of  those 
times  is  enough  to  break  one's  heart.  To-day, 
throughout  the  length  and  breadth  of  this  vast  terri- 
tory—of which  not  an  acre  now  belongs  to  Spain — 
the  spirit  of  the  Indian  has  so  far  remained  faithful 
that  there  is  not  a  single  statue  raised  to  Cortes  or 

VOL.   I.  4 


50  A  HISTORICAL   OUTLINE 

Pizarro.  Columbus,  of  course,  is  commemorated 
by  his  monuments  in  every  capital . 

These  great  New  World  territories,  by  virtue  of 
the  papal  Bull,  were  held  as  the  peculiar  property 
of  the  Sovereign.  The  Spanish  possessions  were 
divided  into  two  "  kingdoms,"  the  Kingdom  of  New 
Spain,  consisting  of  Mexico  and  all  lands  to  and 
including  Venezuela,  and  New  Castile,  later  called 
Peru.  This  last  viceroyalty  was  found  unwieldy, 
and  New  Granada  and  the  River  Plate  regions 
were  constituted  apart  under  viceroys.  The  admin- 
istrative powers  of  these  functionaries  were  very 
great,  but  they  were  held  in  some  control  by  the 
Laws  of  the  Indies  :  measures  passed  for  native 
protection.  Even  the  frightful  dominance  of  the 
Inquisition  did  not  extend  to  the  Indians,  who  were 
regarded  as  merely  catechumens.  Queen  Isabella 
of  Spain,  by  whose  imagination  and  aid  discovery 
of  the  New  World  had  been  rendered  possible, 
would  not  permit — and  her  memory  should  be 
revered  for  it — the  enslavement  of  the  Indians,  if 
she  could  prevent  it,  and  when  Columbus  returned 
home  with  a  cargo  of  natives,  whom  he  proposed 
to  sell  as  slaves,  Isabella  interfered.  Let  them 
be  set  at  liberty,  she  said,  and  sent  back  to  their 
homes.  Columbus  has  in  general  been  repre- 
sented as  a  protector  of  the  Indians,  and  must 
not  necessarily  be  judged  in  the  light  of  this 
incident . 

In  the  general  condemnation  of  Spain  at  that 
period,  these  facts  should  be  recollected.  It  was 
declared  by  the  home  government  that  the  Indians 


IMPERIAL  METHODS  51 

were  to  enjoy  the  privilege  of  free  subjects,  and 
that  their  native  princes  were  to  be  upheld  in  their 
authority.  Censure  was  frequently  visited  upon  the 
conquerors  and  governors  of  Mexico  and  Peru, 
from  home,  for  their  displacement  or  execution  of 
these,  as  any  who  will  study  Spanish  colonial  his- 
tory may  see.  Some  modern  writers,  in  their 
democratic  zeal,  have  overlooked  this.  The  declar- 
ation was  opposed  by  the  colonists,  as  well  as  the 
colonial  authorities,  and  indeed  by  the  clergy. 
Some  compulsion  was  necessary,  of  course,  if  civi- 
lization was  to  make  its  way  among  the  Indians, 
for  they  were  often  loath  to  work,  and  stood  sullenly 
aloof  from  the  white  race .  The  System  of  Re  parti- 
mientos  and  Encomiendas — the  assigning  of  bodies 
of  Indians  to  the  industrial  charge  of  colonists — 
was  well  meant,  but  the  greed  of  the  colonists 
and  their  callous  habit  as  regarded  human  life 
offset  these  influences.  ! 

Another  side  of  the  question  also  presents  itself. 
Under  Philip  II,  the  colonies  were  governed  not  so 
much  in  their  own  interests,  as  for  the  enrichment 
of  Spain  and  its  predominance.  He  yearned  to 
injure  Protestant  England,  and  the  colonists  were 
taxed  and  goaded  to  produce  wealth,  and  their 
interests  sacrificed  in  the  furtherance  of  this  end. 
Those  into  whose  hands  the  unfortunate  Indians 
had  been  delivered  body  and  soul,  drove  the  unfor- 
tunates into  the  mines,  branded  them  on  the  face, 
flogged  them  to  death,  chucked  their  miserable 
carcasses  aside,  when  they  fell  from  exhaustion,  a 
prey  to  the  dogs. 


52  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

We  know  what  these  things  led  to.  England 
and  other  European  nations  refused  to  recognize 
the  exclusive  control  of  the  American  continents 
by  the  Peninsula  Powers,  and  hardy  buccaneers  and 
privateers  streamed  forth  to  dispute  Spanish  pre- 
tensions. Drake  intercepted  the  stream  of  gold 
with  which  Philip  was  enabled  to  equip  his 
armadas  and  thus  performed  a  marked  strategic 
service  for  England. 

Moreover,  such  pretensions  would  never  have 
been  respected,  especially  under  the  influence  of 
the  Renaissance  and  the  Reformation. 

The  restrictions  upon  colonial  trade  by  Spain 
were,  we  see  further,  an  element  in  the  downfall 
of  the  empire.  The  natural  development  of  South 
America  was  seriously  hindered.  All  trade  must 
come  via  Panama,  and  anything  opposed  to  Spanish 
interests  was  suppressed.  The  growing  trade 
between  Acapulco  and  China  was  suppressed ; 
Hidalgo's  vineyard  in  Mexico  was  destroyed  by  the 
Spanish  authorities  because  Spain  alone  must  grow 
grapes.  "  Learn  to  be  silent  and  obey,  and  not 
to  discuss  politics,"  ran  the  proclamation  of  a 
Mexican  viceroy,  near  the  end  of  the  eighteenth 
century . 

When — unlawfully — the  throne  of  Spain  came 
to  be  occupied  with  kings  having  French  sym- 
pathies, these  short-sighted  methods  were  modified . 
Audiencias,  or  law  courts,  of  which,  from  the  reign 
of  Philip  IV  there  were  eleven,  in  Santo  Domingo, 
Mexico,  Panama,  Lima,  Guatemala,  Guadalajara, 
Bogota,  La  Plata,  Chile,  and  Buenos  Ayres, 


COLONIAL  METHODS  53 

acted  as  counsel  to  the  Governors,  with  civil 
and  criminal  jurisdiction.  Appeal  could  be  had 
to  the  Council  of  the  Indies,  that  great  colonial 
body  at  Seville.  For  centuries  the  history  of 
Spanish  America  is  made  up  of  the  deeds  and 
misdeeds  of  the  viceroys. 

The  political  and  commercial  control  of  the 
colonies  was  thus  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the 
Crown.  The  territories  were  expected  to  send 
quantities  of  gold  and  other  precious  metals  home 
to  Spain  with  regularity,  and  indeed  Spain  later 
became  a  mere  sieve  into  which  this  treasure  from 
the  Indies  was  poured.  They  were  also  bound  to 
send  raw  material  and  to  take  all  their  manu- 
factured goods  from  the  Mother  Country. 

It  must  be  recollected  that  the  ill-treatment 
meted  out  to  the  natives  of  these  lands  was  mainly 
the  work  of  the  Spanish  settlers.  They  generally 
both  despised  the  Indians,  and  wished  to  enrich 
themselves  from  their  labours.  They  were,  for 
the  man  of  Iberian  race,  inferior  creatures,  to  be 
used  at  his  will,  and  the  forced  labour  in  the 
mines  was  a  cause  of  the  reduction  of  the  popu- 
lation. Questions  have  been  raised  by  historians 
as  to  whether  the  dreadful  treatment  of  the 
American  native  by  the  Spaniard  was  worse  than 
that  meted  out  to  him  by  the  Anglo-Saxon  settlers 
in  North  America.  There  have  been  grave 
abuses  in  the  latter  field.  The  Indians  in  Spanish 
America,  however,  numbered  many  millions,  as 
against  a  few  hundred  thousand  elsewhere.  The 
Spanish  Crown  and  Government  certainly  did  not 


54  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

countenance    the    excesses    carried    on    by    the 
colonists,  but  strove  to  protect  the  Indians. 

As  for  the  English  colonies  in  America,  they 
enjoyed  a  greater  measure  of  self-government  and 
had  taken  firm  root  under  more  prosaic  but  more 
fruitful  form.  The  same  policy,  however,  on  the 
part  of  the  Mother  Country  was  enacted  in  com- 
mercial matters ;  that  trade  should  consist  almost 
exclusively  of  exchange  of  colonial  raw  material 
for  English  manufactured  articles .  French  colonies 
in  America  were  less  noteworthy  or  prosperous, 
but  they  played  their  part  in  history,  for  the  fall 
of  French  control  in  North  America  was  in  reality 
the  beginning  of  independence  for  all  colonies  in 
the  New  World ;  as  did  the  ideas  of  the  French 
philosophers,  which  found  a  ready  soil  in  the 
Spanish  American  folk.  The  establishment  of  the 
United  States  was  but  the  precursor  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  the  numerous  Latin  American  States. 
The  Spanish  Government  saw  its  danger,  but  was 
too  apathetic  to  move.  However,  some  reforms 
were  introduced,  and  it  may  be  said  that  Spanish 
America  was  well  governed  at  the  time  of  revolu- 
tion, and  was  prosperous. 

But  it  has  been  said  that  "  across  the  face  of  all 
human  reform  are  written  the  words  '  too  late,'  ' 
and  this  is  in  effect  what  happened  in  Spanish 
America.  The  French  Revolution,  and  the  defeat 
of  British  expeditions  to  Buenos  Ayres  by  the 
colonists  in  1806  and  1807  had  their  effect.  The 
struggle  for  Independence  lasted  from  1 8 1  o  to 
1826,  until  the  flag  of  Spain  was  entirely  ousted 


CLERICAL  ANTAGONISMS  55 

r 
from  the  vast  territory  of  Spanish  America,  upon 

which  she  had  stamped  her  individuality,  language,    I 
laws  and  all  else,  with  much  that  was  splendid 
and  enduring,  and  much  that  in  the  future  develop- 
ment of  the  world  may  have  a  value  so  far  scarcely 
apparent . 

The  dark  pictures  of  misrule  of  the  century  of 
republican  life  of  the  twenty  Latin  Republics  are 
interspersed  with  pages  of  a  more  pleasing  nature, 
but  it  is  a  chequered  history,  whose  end  we  cannot 
yet  foresee. 

Among  elements  making  for  disorder  and  blood- 
shed in  Spanish  America,  religion  has  played  a 
prominent  part.  Many  States  developed  bitter 
antagonism  between  clerical  and  non-clerical 
parties .  Some  would  overthrow  the  Church  and  the 
all -pervading  priestly  power  ;  others  would  uphold 
it,  whether  out  of  pious  conviction,  whether  because 
it  was  a  convenient  party  upon  which  to  hang 
their  own  pretensions  and  ambitions.  Mexico, 
Peru,  Colombia,  Ecuador,  Central  America,  Chile 
— in  fact,  all  have  as  part  of  their  history  the  deadly 
struggles  between  these  factions.  To-day  this  very 
fierceness  has  flamed  out,  in  the  main,  to  be  suc- 
ceeded by  a  thinly  veiled  materialism.  What  more 
can  be  expected  of  a  hemisphere  which  was  cursed 
by  the  Inquisition? 

In  many  instances  the  "  reform  "  parties  of  these 
States  having  triumphed  by  force  of  arms,  con- 
fiscates all  Church  property — and  this  often  was 
enormous — which  was  handed  to  secular  and  public 
purposes,  or  enriched  the  pockets  of  politicians. 


56  A  HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

In  Mexico,  where  at  one  time  it  was  not  safe  to 
pass  along  the  street  unless  seeming  to  be  mutter- 
ing a  prayer,  the  power  of  the  Church  was  entirely 
overthrown,  and  convents,  monasteries  and  other 
religious  establishments  were  forbidden  to  exist. 
In  Ecuador  similar  things  were  brought  about, 
accompanied  by  massacre  and  other  dreadful  deeds . 
But  it  would  be  unjust  to  pick  out  any  state  as 
over -prominent  in  these  acts. 

The  Church,  in  large  degree,  brought  these 
troubles  upon  itself.  It  sought  for  too  much  power, 
spiritual  and  temporal.  The  priests  exploited  the 
superstition  and  needs  of  the  poor,  of  the  Indian, 
and  themselves  often  lived  immoral  and  corrupt 
lives.  But  let  us  do  it  justice.  It  protected  the 
poor  and  oppressed  often  against  the  grinding  exac- 
tions of  the  civil  authorities  ;  its  vicars  often  ex- 
posed themselves  in  humane  works.  Often  priests 
dashed  in  with  upraised  crucifix  to  save  the  victims 
of  dreadful  passionate  and  sanguinary  revolutions, 
and  themselves  were  torn  to  pieces.  Often  the 
devout  fathers  spent  their  lives  in  the  most  desolate 
and  savage  regions  of  the  untamed  wilderness, 
seeking  by  their  piety  and  devotion  to  better  the 
lives  of  the  poor  Indians,  the  poor,  ignorant 
children  of  the  mountain  and  the  forest. 

The  Roman  Catholic  religion  ingrafted  itself  with 
wonderful  strength  upon  the  mind  of  the  aboriginal 
of  Spanish  America.  In  some  respects  it  seemed 
a  development  of  his  own  earlier  superstitious  cul- 
ture, and  became  blended  with  it.  Tawdry  images 
held  for  them  and  their  miserable  lives  the  hope 


THE  ANCIENT  CIVILIZATIONS       57 

of  eternal  joy,  of  reprieve  of  sin,  of  comfort  an 
misery,  and  to-day  we  cannot  enter  a  simple  church 
of  the  remote  villages  in  those  boundless  Cordilleras 
and  deserts  without  stumbling  over  the  prostrate 
forms,  bent  upon  the  earthem  floors,  of  poor,  black  - 
clothed  Indian  women  passing  their  silent  hour  in 
supplication  and  orisons.  Men  are  not  there  :  the 
women,  as  ever,  seem  to  link  the  material  and 
the  spiritual.  May  heaven  succour  these  poor 
Indian  women -folk,  and  bring  them  a  happier 
destiny  yet.  ' 

A  glance  now  at  the  earlier  cultures  of  these 
lands  and  the  earlier  religions  of  their  people. 

Who,  upon  beholding  the  beautiful  ruined 
structures  of  the  early  folk  of  America — for  by 
America  here  we  mean  Spanish  America,  where 
alone  these  vestiges  are  found — in  the  decaying 
sculptured  walls  of  their  temples,  or  the  massive 
stories  of  their  fortresses  and  palaces,  or  of  the 
strange  pyramids  they  raised,  has  not  felt  his  con- 
ception of  the  New  World  undergo  a  change? 
Nay,  do  we  even  study  the  printed  page  which  sets 
them  forth,  not  having  had  the  privilege  of 
journeying  to  where  they  stand,  wrapped  in  the 
silence  of  the  jungle  or  stark  upon  the  rocky  ranges 
of  the  hills,  we  feel  that  here  is  a  page  in  the  book 
of  mankind  whose  turning  opens  to  us  a  vista  little 
dreamt  of. 

The  story  of  those  strange  old  cultures  of  Mexico 
and  Peru  has  always  fascinated  us  :  the  Aztec 
and  the  Inca  stand  forth  from  the  dry  lore  of 
archaeology  with  a  peculiar  charm,  which  we  may 


58  A   HISTORICAL  OUTLINE 

not  have  felt  even  in  contemplating  the  more 
wonderful  and  ancient  cultures  of  the  Old  World. 
For  here  we  feel  that  the  intellect  and  art  of  man 
sprang  unaided  from  the  dust,  to  write  his  pathetic 
story  in  the  stones  of  a  continent  unvisited  by  the 
Jehovah  of  the  Israelites,  unknown  to  history, 
unblessed  of  Christianity,  unrecorded  and  obscure. 
Here  the  reaction  of  man  from  his  environment 
came  forth  from  no  recorded  Eden ;  no  tree  of 
knowledge,  of  good  and  evil,  opened  his  eyes ;  no 
Abraham  here  walked  with  God,  no  Pharaoh 
or  Nebuchadnezzar  brought  visions  and  dreams 
to  these  more  sombre  pages,  and  no  divine 
wisdom  seemed  to  shed  its  light  within  these 
sculptured  walls. 

There  is  the  credit  due  to  early  America,  to  the 
ability  of  her  autochthonous  cultures,  even  if  they 
formed  no  permanent  link  in  the  chain  of  human 
development,  but  were  too  early  cut  off  and  faded 
away  like  the  untimely  fruit  of  a  woman,  that  at 
least  man  rose  here,  in  accordance  with  the  divine 
mandate,  arose  from'  the  dust,  and  if  he  did  but 
build  him  "  fanes  of  fruitless  prayer  "  to  strange 
idols  and  savage  deities,  he  had  that  in  common 
with  the  majority  of  the  cultures  of  the  Old  World 
of  Asia,  Africa  and  India,  where  men  raised 
temples  of  the  utmost  beauty  to  shelter  the  most 
inane  rites  or  bloody  religions. 

Before  Mitla  and  Palenque  or  Teotihuacan  and 
Tiahuanako  let  us  mark  the  skill  which  carved 
these  intricate  walls  or  raised  their  terraces  and 
monoliths,  the  greater  wonder  because  all  that  has 


PYRAMID   OF  THE   SUN  59 

descended  from  those  skilled  craftsmen  of  a  bygone 
age  on  the  American  soil  are  the  stolid  Indian, 
incapable  of  squaring  stone  to  stone,  ignorant  of 
the  bronze  chisel,  degenerate  and  fallen.  The 
skill  and  imagination  which  would  have  done 
credit  to  the  Greeks  or  the  Chaldeans  lies 
buried  in  the  dust,  nor  is  likely  yet  to^  be 
resuscitated . 

We  have  spoken  of  Teotihuacan — the  name 
means  in  the  ancient  tongue  of  Mexico  the  "  house 
of  God  " — and  this,  the  great  pyramid  of  the  sun, 
the  work  of  the  shadowy  Toltecs,  may  be  seen  by 
the  traveller  to-day  who,  taking  steamer  and  train, 
will  convey  himself  to  the  high  plateau  of  Mexico, 
a  few  miles  north  of  the  capital.  It  is  a  structure 
of  stone  and  rubble  seven  hundred  feet  upon  its 
broadest  side  and  two  hundred  feet  high,  and, 
anciently,  upon  its  summit  stood  the  golden  image 
of  Tonatiuah,  whose  breastplate  flashed  back  the 
rays  of  the  rising  sun,  what  time  the  attendant 
priests  chanted  their  savage  refrain  upon  the  ter- 
races beneath.  Restored  by  the  Government  of  the 
Republic  under  President  Diaz,  the  great  monument 
stands  up  much  the  same  as  it  did  in  days  of  yore. 
How  many  centuries  have  beaten  upon  it  we  can 
scarcely  conjecture.  It  was  in  ruins  when 
the  defeated  Cortes  and  his  Spaniards,  after  the 
dreadful  experience  of  the  Noche  Triste,  the 
sorrowful  night  passed  beneath  its  shadow  and  wept 
thereunder  for  his  fallen  comrades  and  his  ruined 
enterprise . 

If  little  we  know  of  Teotihuacan,  what  shall  be 


60  A  HISTORICAL   OUTLINE 

said  of  Mitla,  whose  mysterious  halls  and  corri- 
dors, scarcely  defaced  by  time,  arise  from  the  sands 
of  Oaxaca. 

And  the  builders  of  these  temples,  have  they 
produced  no  songs  of  beauty,  no  enduring  psalms  ? 
Had  their  dreadful  religious  rites  nothing  in 
common  with  the  idea  of  a  true  Providence  ?  Hear 
the  psalm  of  Nezahual-Coyotl,  the  Solomon  of 
Mexico .  This  is  what  he  sang  : 

Truly  the  gods  which  I  adore — 

The  idols  of  stone  and  wood, 

They  speak  not  nor  do  they  feel, 

Neither  could  they  fashion  the  beauty  of  the  heavens, 

Nor  yet  that  of  the  earth  and  the  streams, 

Nor  of  the  trees  and  the  plants  which  beautify  it. 

Some  powerful,  hidden  and  unknown  God — 

He  must  be  the  Creator  of  the  Universe, 

He  alone  can  console  me  in  my  affliction, 

He  alone  can  still  the  bitter  anguish  of  this  heart. 

So  spake  Nezahual-Coyotl,  in  what  has  been 
termed  the  Golden  Age  of  Texcoco,  whose  his- 
torians, arts  and  poets  were  in  their  time 
renowned  among  the  nations  of  Anahuac,  on  the 
high  Mexican  Plateau.  This  person  was  a  phil- 
osopher and  a  poet,  but  the  writings  of  the  period 
— the  picture-writings — were  perversely  destroyed1 
by  Zumarraga,  the  first  Archbishop  of  Mexico  after 
the  Conquest — an  irremediable  loss. 

Hear  also  the  Inca  prayer  to  the  Creator,  as 
chanted  by  the  priests  and  nobles  of  Peru  : 

Oh  Creator  :  Thou  art  without  equal  unto  the 
ends  of  the  earth !  Thou  who  givest  life  and 


THE  UNKNOWN  GOD  61 

strength  to  mankind,  saying,  let  this  be  a  man  and 
let  this  be  a  woman.  And  as  thou  sayest,  so  thou 
givest  life,  and  vouchsafest  that  man  shall  live 
in  health  and  peace,  and  free  from  danger.  Thou 
who  dwellest  in  the  heights  of  heaven,  in  the 
thunder  and  in  the  storm-clouds,  hear  us.  Grant 
us  eternal  life  and  have  us  in  thy  keeping. 

This  last  is  from  the  Rites  and  Laws  of  the 
Incas.1  It  is  but  one  of  many  similar  prayers, 
which,  as  regards  sentiment  and  language,  might 
be  taken  from  the  Bible  and  Church  Service. 

These  prayers  to  the  Unknown  God,  written  by 
the  early  people  of  America,  cut  off  from  any  con- 
tact with  the  Old  World,  would  seem  to  show  that 
man,  in  the  reaction  from  his  environment,  inevit- 
ably develops  within  him  the  conception  of  a 
supreme  deity. 

It  now  remains  for  us  to  choose  how  we  shall 
approach  the  Spanish  American  lands.  Shall  we 
cross  the  Spanish  Main,  and  land  where  Cortes  did 
at  Vera  Cruz,  the  city  of  the  True  Cross,  and  so 
enter  Mexico?  Or  shall  we,  still  crossing  the 
American  Mediterranean,  land  on  the  Isthmus  of 
Panama  and  thence,  as  Pizarro  did,  voyage  along 
the  great  Pacific  coast  to  mysterious  Peru?  Or 
shall  we  take  steamer  to  the  River  Plate,  that 
more  prosaic  route  to  the  lands  of  com  and  cattle  ? 
Or  shall  we  go  round  the  Horn?  Perhaps  the 
middle  course  is  best,  and,  at  the  isthmus,  we  will 
first  explore  Central  America. 

*  Molina,  Hakluyt  Series,  Markham  translation. 


62  A  HISTORICAL   OUTLINE 

Then  we  may  say  with  the  poet  Keats  : 

Oft  have  I  travelled  in  the  Land  of  Gold 

...  Or  like  stout  Cortes  .  .  .  and  all  his  men 

Gazed  on  the  Pacific  .  .  .  silent  upon  a  peak  in  Darien. 

Keats,  however,  was  in  error.  It  was  not  Cortes, 
but  another  who  gazed  from  the  peak,  as  presently 
we  shall  see. 


CHAPTER    III 
CENTRAL  AMERICA 

GUATEMALA,       HONDURAS,       BRITISH       HONDURAS, 
NICARAGUA,   SALVADOR,    COSTA   RICA,   PANAMA 

ON  Michaelmas  Day,  in  the  year  1513,  a  Spanish 
adventurer,  surrounded  by  his  followers — they  had 
sailed  from  Hispaniola,  or  Santo  Domingo,  on  an 
expedition  of  discovery— found  himself  on  the 
high  ridge  of  the  land  called  Darien.  His  eyes, 
seeking  the  horizon,  fell,  not  on  an  endless  ex- 
panse of  mountain  and  forest,  such  as  here  might 
have  been  expected  to  stretch  away  into  the  un- 
known solitudes,  but  upon  the  sheen  of  waters.  A 
smothered  exclamation  fell  from  his  lips.  "  El 
Mar!"  ("the  Sea!")  he  cried,  and  he  and  his 
followers  remained  a  space  in  the  silence  of 
astonishment. 

The  Spaniard  was  Vasco  Nunez  de  Balboa.  It 
was  one  of  the  most  dramatic  of  geographical 
discoveries.  They  had  but  traversed  an  isthmus, 
where  they  had  expected  a  continent— to-day  the 
Isthmus  of  Panama.  They  had  discovered  an 
ocean ;  they  realized  in  that  moment  much  that 
before  had  been  a  mystery. 

63 


64  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

Descending  to  the  shore  and  wading  deep  into 
the  waters,  Balboa  drew  his  sword,  and  waving  it 
thereover  took  possession  of  that  ocean  and 
whatsoever  shores  it  might;  wash  for  the  King 
of  Spain,  naming  it  the  "  South  Seas,"  for, 
from  the  curvature  of  the  isthmus,  he  was 
looking  towards  the  south,  having  crossed  from 
the  north. 

Thus  was  the  great  Pacific  Ocean  first  beheld 
by  the  white  man,  as  far  as  history  records. 

We  have  already  seen  that  Balboa's  exploit  pre- 
ceded the  Conquest  of  Mexico.  The  land  of  the 
Aztecs,  like  that  of  Peru,  was  undreamed  of,  but 
the  discovery  of  both  followed,  as  did  the  passage 
of  the  Magellan  Strait  by  the  explorer  whose  name 
it  bears,  and  who  first  crossed  the  Pacific,  and 
from  its  gentle  and  favouring  gales  gave  it  its 
name. 

The  discoverer  of  the  isthmus  and  the  great 
ocean  was  a  hidalgo,  and  had  been  Governor  of 
a  province,  but  to  escape  his  creditors  in  Hispaniola 
—according  to  one  account — he  concealed  himself 
in  a  barrel  on  board  ship,  and  so  began  his  voyage. 
Balboa,  pressing  into  his  service  a  train  of  Indians, 
many  of  whom,  it  is  said,  died  under  the  lash  in 
the  task,  caused  the  timbers  of  two  vessels  to 
be  dragged  across  the  rugged  neck  of  land  and 
launched  upon  the  South  Sea,  bent  upon  the  dis- 
covery of  Peru,  which,  later,  Andagoya  attempted, 
but  which,  however,  the  fates  had  reserved  for 
Pizarro.  Balboa  was  afterwards  treacherously 
done  to  death  by  Pedrarias  Davila,  one  of  the 


THE   EARLY   FOLK  65 

most  ruthless  of  the  Spanish  adventurers  of  that 
time. 

Thus  did  the  inhabitants  of  this  region  we  are 
now  to  traverse  have  their  foretaste  of  the  white 
man's  overlordship— a  foretaste  of  the  dreadful  lot 
which  fate  had  in  store  for  them,  the  simple  folk 
of  Central  America,  who,  with  their  ancient  culture 
and  beautiful  arts,  akin  in  some  respects  to  those 
of  the  Aztec  and  the  Inca,  were  almost  stamped 
out  under  Pedro  de  Alvarado,  who  invaded 
Guatemala  in  1522,  and  his  successors  of  the 
early  Colonial  period. 

Seven  different  States  or  entities  to-day  comprise 
this  zone  of  territory  of  Central  America,  washed 
on  the  one  hand  by  the  Caribbean  and  on  the  other 
by  the  Pacific,  whose  people  dwell  in  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  and  interesting  part  of  the  earth's 
surface— Guatemala,  with  its  coffee  plantations  and 
lavish  fruits,  Honduras  of  the  rugged  surface,  and 
British  Honduras,  Nicaragua  With  its  great  lake, 
Costa  Rica,  the  'one -time  "  Rich  Coast,"  Salvador, 
most  populous  and  advanced  of  all,  Panama,  the 
land  of  the  famous  Canal. 

We  may  be  permitted  a  brief  glance  at  the 
ancient  inhabitants  of  this  portion  of  America,  prior 
to  the  advent  of  the  Spaniards. 

As  in  the  case  of  North  America,  in  Mexico : 
and  South  America,  in  Peru  and  Colombia,  so 
in  Central  America  Was  there  a  ruling  caste  or 
culture.  Here  it  was  that  of  the  Quiches,  a  people 
of  Maya  stock. 

These  people  were  most  numerous  in  Western 

VOL.    I.  5 


66  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

Guatemala,  and  at  the  time  of  the  Conquest  the 
most  powerful  inhabitants  of  Central  America. 
The  sacred  book  of  the  Quiches,  known  as  the 
Popol  Vuh,  embodies  a  mythological  cosmogony, 
in  -which  is  a  Creation  story  and  an  account  of  a 
Flood,  after  the  manner  of  that  of  the  Old  Testa- 
ment. (The  Quiches  are  not  to  be  confounded 
with  the  Quechuas  of  Peru.)  Their  capital  was 
Utatlan,  near  where  stands  the  modern  Santa  Cruz 
Quiche,  and  the  place  was  cleverly  fortified.  Their 
system  of  government  was  an  elaborate  one,  as 
was  their  religion.  Indeed,  the  student  remarks 
with  surprise  how  far  these  early  peoples  had  gone 
in  the  development  of  social  polity  and  economic 
order.  The  Quiches,  like  the  Aztecs,  kept  his- 
torical records  in  picture-writing.  The  Incas,  we 
may  remark  in  passing,  of  Peru,  kept  their  histories 
by  means  of  the  quipos,  a  mnemonic  system  of 
knotted  and  coloured  cords. 

The  Sun  God  was  the  chief  deity,  but  there  were 
many  lesser  objects  of  adoration.  But  the  religion 
was  of  a  high  order  in  some  respects,  although 
the  Spanish  priests,  after  the  Conquest,  strove  to 
hide  the  fact,  and,  indeed,  there  was  wholesale 
destruction  throughout  Spanish  'America  of  native 
records  and  objects,  whether  it  were  of  the  beauti- 
ful picture-writings  and  scrolls  of  Mexico  and 
Central  America,  whether  the  pillars  of  stone  by 
which  the  early  Peruvian  priests  skilfully  deter- 
mined the  solstices.  The  jealous  priestcraft  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion  could  not  tolerate 
anything  that  showed  ingenuity  or  knowledge  by 


THE   NATIVES  67 

their  pagan  predecessors,  and  all  these  things  they 
considered,  or  affected  to  consider,  "  things  of  the 
devil,"  and  destroyed  them  wherever  possible.  The 
marvel  is  that  so  much  has  remained,  for  the 
benefit  of  the  archaeologist  to-day. 

The  religion  of  the  Quiches,  like  that  of  the 
Mexicans,  contained  horrible  practices  involving 
human  sacrifices.  This  was  probably  absent  in 
Peru.  Repulsive  as  it  was,  we  may  question 
whether  it  was  as  cruel  as  the  dreadful  tortures 
of  the  Inquisition,  such  as  rendered  Mexico  and 
Lima  and  other  places  in  the  News  World  centres 
of  horror,  until  the  time,  of  Independence,  when 
the  infuriated  populace  destroyed  the  Inquisitional 
centres . 

We  have  previously  remarked  that  Columbus 
sailed  along  the  Atlantic  coast  of  Central  America, 
that  of  Honduras  and  Costa  Rica,  and  it  was  here 
that,  seeing  the  ornaments  of  gold  on  the  swarthy 
bodies  of  the  natives,  the  voyagers'  imagination 
was  freshly  aroused  to  the  possibilities  of  conquest. 
But  the  natives  of  this  region  were  not  necessarily 
as  docile  as  those  of  Hispaniola  and  the  Antilles. 
They  mustered  on  the  shore,  leaping  from  the 
dark  forests  as  the  strange  sails  of  the  Spaniards 
hove  in  sight,  communicating  rapidly  with  each 
tribe  by  those  peculiar  methods  they  employed, 
and  made  the  air  resound  with  the  beatings  and 
blasts  of  their  war-drums  and  bugle-shells,  bran- 
dishing their  clubs  and  swords  of  palm-wood. 

Columbus,  however,  did  not  generally  employ 
harsh  methods  against  the  natives .  He  is  regarded 


68  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

rather  as  their  protector,  and  a  beautiful  monument 
at  Colon  represents  him  as  sheltering  an  Indian 
who  timorously  looks  up  for  protection— a  con- 
trast, as  remarked  elsewhere,  with  the  lack  of 
monuments  in  Spanish  America  to  Cortes  and 
Pizarro.  However,  under  Bartholome  Columbus, 
the  brother  of  Christopher,  great  animosity  was 
aroused  on  the  part  of  the  Indians  in  the  settle- 
ment at  Veragua,  resulting  in  the  death  of  the 
Spanish  colonists. 

One  of  the  most  tragic  episodes  after  the  Con- 
quest of  Mexico  was  the  expedition  of  Cortes  to 
Central  America,  following  on  the  expedition  he 
had  sent  into  Guatemala  under.  Pedro  de  Alvarado. 
There  had  been  a  desperate  fight  betwen  Alvarado's 
band  and  the  redoubtable  Quiches  of  Utatlan,  and 
it  was  only  due  to  the  fortunate  circumstance  of 
dissension  among  the  different  predominant  tribes 
that  the  Conquest  of  Guatemala  was  so  readily 
carried  out.  Thus  was  history,  as  in  Mexico  and 
indeed  in  Peru,  brought  about  also  in  Central 
America— fall  under  dissension,  a  house  divided 
against  itself.  ! 

In  Honduras  Cortes  committed  a  foul  deed. 
Suspecting,  or  pretending  to  suspect,  Guahtemoc, 
the  son  of  Montezuma— who  after  the  fall  of 
Mexico  accompanied  the  conquerors  to  Central 
America— of  some  treacherous  design,  Cortes  had 
the  unfortunate  young  Aztec  hanged  head  down- 
wards from  a  tree.  It  will  be  recollected  that 
Guahtemoc  was  the  author  of  the  saying,  well 
known  in  Mexico,  of  "  Am  I,  think  you,  upon  some 


GUATEMALA  69 

bed  of  roses?"  when,  whilst  the  Spaniards  were 
roasting  his  feet  in  order  to  make  him  reveal  the 
whereabouts  of  the  Aztec  treasure,  he  replied  to 
his  companions  who  were  also  being  tortured  and 
were  groaning  in  agony,  and  who  asked  if  he  too 
suffered.  This  scene  is  depicted  on  a  beautiful 
sculptured  monument  in  the  city  of  Mexico— the 
statue  to  Guahtemoc,  in  the  Paseo  de  la  Reforma. 

In  the  early  colonial  government  of  Central 
America  the  capital  was  set  up  by  Alvarado 
in  the  chief  town  of  Guatemala.  The  scenery  of 
the  region  is  striking.  Great  volcanoes  overhang 
the  countryside,  and  these  have  at  times  wrought 
terrible  havoc  here,  and  still  do  so.  In  fact,  the 
history  of  the  city  of  Guatemala  is  a  record  of  suc- 
cessive destruction  and  re-establishment,  probably 
unique  in  the  history  of  any  land,  due  to  the 
dreadful  forces  of  Nature,  seismic,  tectonic  and 
volcanic,  exerted  upon  this  unrestful  point  of  the 
earth's  surface.  I 

We  may  glance  briefly  at  some  of  these  catas- 
trophes. They  show  the  trials  which  the  inhabit- 
ants of  this  part  of  the  world  are  called  upon 
to  bear. 

The  first  city  was  established  by  Alvarado  in 
1527,  on  the  banks  of  the  Rio  Pensativo,  at  the 
foot  of  the  Agua  volcano,  but  in  1541  this  un- 
friendly mountain  threw  from  its  crater  a  deluge 
of  water  that,  carrying  rocks  with  it,  rushed  down 
the  mountain  side  and  bore  upon  the  doomed  city, 
whose  destruction  was  lighted  by  the  terrible  fire 
which  simultaneously  burst  from  the  angry  peak. 


70  CENTRAL   AMERICA 

Afterwards  the  surviving  inhabitants  removed 
their  city  to  another  site,  and  for  twenty  years 
made  solemn  annual  pilgrimages  to  the  Ciudad 
Vieja,  as  the  former  place  came  to  be  called— the 
old  town  about  a  league  from  the  new.  This 
flourished  greatly  and  became  the  most  populous 
place  in  Central  America,  with  more  than  a 
hundred  churches  and  convents,  devoutly  adminis- 
tered after  the  fashion  of  the  Catholic  priesthood 
and  pious  folk  of  the  Spanish  American  lands. 

But  this  progress  and  piety  failed  to  give  security 
from  acts  of  Nature.  After  being  many  times 
threatened,  this  beautifully  built  town,  in  the  midst 
of  the  most  romantic  scenery,  was  destroyed  by 
a  dreadful  earthquake  in  1773— earthquake  to 
which  was  added  the  horrors  of  eruption  from  the 
volcano  Fuego  (or  "  Fire  "),  which  overlooks  it. 
In  vain  the  people  confessed  their  sins  in  the  open 
street,  in  vain  priests  and  people  weepingly  carried 
procession  of  the  saints  and  saintly  relics  from 
church  to  church.  The  very  pavements  rose  up 
against  them  with  the  undulations  of  the  earth- 
quake ;  the  very  heavens  rained  down  showers  of 
stones  and  ashes  upon  them,  obscuring  even  the 
light  of  the  volcano,  and  morning  dawned  upon  a 
ruined  and  broken  city  with  its  people  crushed 
beneath  the  walls  of  their  own  dwellings. 

The  city  was  moved  again  twenty-seven  miles 
away,  and  became  the  seat  of  government  in  1779 
—the  third  attempt,  though  whether  it  will  be  the 
last  remains  to  be  seen,  for  but  a  short  time  ago 
we  heard  of  serious  earthquakes  in  the  district. 


GUATEMALA  71 

Lofty  mountains  rise  on  every  side,  with  deep 
ravines  on  the  edge  of  the  tablelands  upon  which 
the  city  stands.  The  houses  have  been  kept  of 
one  story,  as  a  measure  of  security.  The  general 
beauty  and  prosperity  of  Guatemala  city  has  earned 
for  it  the  name  of  the  Paris  of  Central  America. 
We  may  reach  it  by  the  railway  which,  starting 
from  Puerto  Barrios  on  the  Atlantic  coast,  winds 
upwards  to  the  elevation  of  5,000  feet,  which  is  that 
of  the  plateau  on  which  it  stands,  190  miles  from 
the  sea,  and  continues  for  a  further  75  miles  to 
San  Jose*  on  the  Pacific. 

Guatemala  is  a  land  rich  in  natural  resources, 
with  fruitful  plains  and  valleys,  and  the  peculiar 
volcanic  constituents  of  the  soil  are  specially 
favourable  for  the  production  of  coffee,  which  has 
been  the  source  of  considerable  wealth.  There 
are  vast  plains  and  extensive  lakes,  and  innumer- 
able rivers  and  streams.  Many  valuable  kinds  of 
wood  exist  in  the  forests,  and  such  products  as 
cocoa,  sugar-cane,  tobacco,  bananas,  and  oranges, 
with  other  less  common  kinds  are  plentiful.  There 
are  some  small  deposits  of  gold  and  other  precious 
and  commoner  metals.  The  climate  is  excellent, 
except  on  the  coast. 

But  this  fruitfulness  and  bounty  of  Nature  is 
not  conducive  necessarily  to  peace  among  the 
people  of  the  land.  Rather  the  restlessness  of 
Nature,  as  evinced  by  earthquake  unrest,  is  re- 
flected in  the  politics  and  general  economy  of  the 
Republic.  The  colonial  civilization,  which  was 
marked  by  the  destruction  of  the  Indians  and  their 


72  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

more  or  less  beneficent  old  civilization,  and  the 
enslavement  of  many  tribes,  with  total  extermina- 
tion in  some  cases,  was  succeeded  by  a  republic 
in  which  pretenders  and  dictators  strove  with  each 
other,  less  to  advance  the  interests  of  the  country 
than  to  satisfy  their  own  ambitions  and  fill  their 
own  pockets.  There  were,  too,  constant  embroil- 
ments with  the  neighbouring  States,  and  bloody 
local  wars.  Some  of  the  presidents,  however,  did 
endeavour,  side  by  side  with  their  other  activities, 
to  promote  education  and  commerce,  and  to  im- 
prove the  means  of  transport  and  communication — 
ever  a  vital  matter  in  Spanish  America,  with  its 
rugged  soil  and  vast  extent. 

We  find  in  Guatemala  many  remains  of  the 
ancient  folk,  in  beautifully  carved  stelae,  in  in- 
numerable idols  recovered  from  the  soil,  and  in  the 
native  arts,  which,  evincing  the  dexterity  and  love  of 
beauty  of  the  aboriginal,  have  happily  survived  both 
the  destructive  force  of  the  Hispanic  domination 
and,  so  far,  the  equally  destructive  forces  of  modern 
commercialism,  which  ousts  their  industries  with 
imported  goods. 

In  Quetzaltenango,  the  ancient  "  Town  of  the 
Green  Feather  " — the  Quetzal  was  the  sacred  bird 
of  the  Quiches — we  shall  specially  remark  the 
native  aptitudes  in  their  quaint  and  pleasing 
handicrafts.  If  these  quiet  and  peaceful  folk — 
for  the  natives  themselves  are  peaceful  enough- 
are  from  time  to  time  disturbed  by  the  subterranean 
roarings  which  precede  earthquake  shocks  in  the 
hills  and  the  tidal  waves  upon  the  coast,  they  soon 


ISTHMIAN  TOPOGRAPHY  73 

forget  these  manifestations  of  Nature,  which,  after 
all,  are  less  destructive  than  those  due  to  the 
political  ambition  and  ruthless  cruelties  of  mankind 
itself. 

The  characteristics,  natural  and  human,  which 
we  have  remarked  in  the  northern  part  of  Central 
America,  as  represented  by  the  Republic  of 
Guatemala,  are  found  in  varying  degree  in  the 
sister  States  extending  to  the  south.  The  general 
topography  of  the  isthmian  region  which  Central 
America  embodies  is  that  of  a  long  backbone 
of  mountainous  highlands  extending  from 
Tehuantepec  for  eight  hundred  miles  to  the  South 
American  mainland.  The  physiography  of  the 
region,  however,  is  associated  with  that  of  the 
Antilles  rather  than  the  northern  and  southern 
land  masses,  and  its  belts  of  volcanoes  correspond 
to  those  of  the  West  Indies. 

In  earlier  geological  times  the  region  probably 
consisted  of  isolated  stretches  of  land  and  moun- 
tains, and  before  man  appeared  upon  the  earth 
there  may  have  been  not  one  but  several  isthmian 
"  canals "  or  apertures,  with  the  waters  of  the 
Atlantic  and  Pacific  intermixing  therein.  Alter- 
nately rising  and  sinking— as  evidenced  by  the 
"  drowned  "  Valley  of  the  Chagres,  on  the  site 
of  the  Panama  Canal,  the  land  took  on  its  present 
form1,  in  which,  however,  it  may  be  that  final 
stability  is  not  yet  reached.  It  is  fervently  to 
be  hoped,  however,  that  the  particular  belt  traversed 
by  the  Panama  Canal  will  remain  immune  from 
any  earth  movements,  for  that  great  work  of  human 


74  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

ingenuity,  carried  out  at  such  enormous  cost,  might 
otherwise  be  rendered  useless  in  a  single  instant. 

Panama,  however,  forms  the  extreme  south  of 
Central  America,  and  we  must  cast  a  glance  at 
the  sequence  of  States  below  Guatemala. 

Honduras  is  a  land  of  considerable  area,  but 
among  the  most  backward  portions  of  the  region. 
The  efforts  of  its  Government  to  encourage 
economic  and  commercial  development  have  not 
been  very  well  sustained  and  successful,  and  there 
are  only  two  towns  in  the  Republic  of  any  size, 
one  of  which  is  the  ancient  capital  Tegucigalpa, 
picturesquely  situated  upon  its  river  in  an  amphi- 
theatre of  the  hills,  for  Honduras  is  essentially 
a  land  of  mountains  and  depths,  as  its  name  signi- 
fies. The  great  grassy  plain  of  Comayagua, 
however,  which  extends  across  the  country,  upon 
which  great  herds  of  cattle  feed,  redeems  the 
land  from  too  broken  a  condition.  The  city  of 
ComayagMa  was  in  earlier  times  the  capital,  but 
it  was  ruined  by  the  wars  of  the  Central  American 
Federation,  when,  after  an  endeavour  to  establish 
some  form  of  political  unification  quarrels  set  in. 

This  little-known  Republic  has  a  long  frontage 
upon  the  Atlantic  side,  but  only  a  few  miles  on 
the  Pacific,  which,  however,  affords  it  an  outlet 
of  corresponding  importance  at  the  picturesque 
seaport  of  Amapala,  on  the  beautiful  Bay  of 
Fonseca.  Indeed,  this  condition,  of  straddling  a 
continent,  as  it  were,  is  one  enjoyed  by  all  the 
Central  American  States,  with  the  exception  of 
Salvador,  which  lies  between  the  Pacific  and  the 


HONDURAS  r5 

backbone  of  the  highlands.  Otherwise,  Honduras 
is  unfortunate  in  its  means  of  communication  :  its 
railways  are  few  and  short ;  its  roads  are  diffi- 
cult of  construction  over  the  broken  topography, 
and  in  the  absence  of  national  funds  and  private 
enterprise  ;  and  an  attempt  made  of  recent  years 
to  inaugurate  services  of  motor-cars  did  not  meet 
with  success.  However,  a  railway  across  from  sea 
to  sea  should  be  of  national  value,  and  the  wealth 
of  the  country,  both  agricultural  and  mineral,  may 
become  more  intensively  developed. 

The  name  of  Honduras  is  almost  a  byword  for 
revolution,  which  occurs  with  marked  regularity. 

The  colony  or  possession  of  British  Honduras 
lies  in  a  commanding  position  between  its  neigh- 
bours of  Guatemala  and  Mexico  on  the  west  and 
north,  facing,  on  the  Atlantic  Ocean— under  its 
local  name  here  of  the  Caribbean  Sea — towards 
the  important  island  of  Jamaica,  some  600  miles 
away. 

Belize,  as  this  foothold  of  the  British  Empire 
is  otherwise  termed,  is  about  the  size  of  Wales, 
and  not  unhealthy  in  comparison  with  the  other 
British  possessions  of  tropical  America.  It  is  well 
endowed  with  a  wide  variety  of  natural  resources 
and  potentialities,  but  it  cannot  be  said  that  its 
economic  progress  is  commensurate  with  its  posi- 
tion. One  of  the  neglected  offspring  of  Britain, 
it  is,  like  Demerara,  an  example  of  British  national 
and  governmental  supineness.  It  might  have  been 
supposed  that  a  people  such  as  those  of  the  United 
Kingdom,  urgently  requiring  for  their  teeming 


76  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

millions  of  folk  the  things  in  foodstuffs  and 
material  that  the  Tropics  produce — things  of  the 
grocer's  shop  and  the  store  cupboard— would  have 
demanded  a  more  vigorous  administration  and 
development  of  this  piece  of  national  property, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  one  in  a  hundred  would  know 
where  or  what  British  Honduras  is. 

We  cannot  here  dwell  at  length  upon  its  possi- 
bilities and  attractions.  Approaching  the  capital, 
Belize,  from  the  sea,  we  pass  the  green  islands  that 
fringe  the  coast,  and  extending  along  the  banks 
of  the  river  we  see  the  high  roofs  and  wide 
verandas  of  the  houses  and  remark  the  coco-palm's 
grateful  shade .  Often  an  invigorating  breeze  blows 
from  the  sea,  the  same  gales  that  crisp  the  surf 
at  Colon,  which  the  traveller  will  inevitably  note, 
and  this  and  the  high  tides  wash  the  fever-bearing 
mangrove  swamps  and  marshes,  rendering  them 
less  unhealthy  than  otherwise  would  be  the  case. 
The  inhabitants  are  grateful  for  these  tonic  breezes 
from  the  east  upon  this  coastal  belt. 

This  belt  gives  place  in  the  interior  to  savannas, 
pasture  lands  and  forests  of  useful  timber,  which 
latter  is  cut  for  export ;  and  beyond  are  the 
Cockscomb  Mountains,  the  birthplace  of  numerous 
streams . 

In  this  interior  region  of  British  Honduras  there 
lie  the  remains  of  an  ancient  culture  area,  ruins 
of  buildings  such  as  we  see  in  Yucatan,  the 
adjacent  part  of  Mexico,  and  in  Guatemala  on  the 
west.  They  appear  to  show  the  existence  of  a 
larger  population  in  pre-Colombian  times— part  of 


BRITISH   HONDURAS  77 

that  undoubtedly  clever  and  industrious  ancient 
folk  of  Central  America  who  have  so  entirely 
disappeared.  • 

To  the  buccaneers  of  the  Spanish  Main  the 
colony  largely  owes  its  origin,  and  to  the  logwood 
cutters.  The  coloured  folk  here  are  some  of  the 
most  expert  woodmen  in  the  world,  and  we  see 
the  results  of  their  labour  in  the  rafts  of  timber 
—pine,  cedar  and  dyewood — being  piloted  down 
the  flood  of  the  Belize  River.  These  people 
are  descendants  of  the  buccaneers,  people  of 
European  blood  forming  part  of  the  population, 
the  majority  of  which  is  composed  of  a  mixture, 
the  descendants  of  negro  slaves,  Indian  and  white 
settlers.  There  is,  of  course,  a  small  purely  white 
class,  official,  colonial  and  commercial,  under 
colony  government  from  Britain. 

The  natural  products  here  most  in  evidence  are 
the  timbers,  together  with  bananas  and  other 
characteristic  fruits,  and  coconuts,  rubber,  coffee, 
cotton  and  fibre -producing  plants  ;  and  gold  and 
other  minerals  are  found  and  worked  in  small 
degree. 

It  might  perhaps  be  said  that  a  description  of 
British  Honduras  is  out  of  place  in  a  book  such 
as  the  present,  treating  of  Spanish  America.  But 
geographical  considerations  would  not  thus  be 
denied.  Further,  this  little  outpost  of  the  British 
Empire,  if  it  should  always  remain  such,  cannot 
fail  to  influence,  and  to  be  influenced  by,  the 
Spanish  American  civilization  around  it.  It  might 
under  better  development  accomplish  much  good 


78 

in  this  respect,  if  the  policy  of  drift  were 
abandoned.  A  North  American  traveller  who  had 
journeyed  across  the  Central  American  Republics 
and  had  been  badgered  unceasingly  by  revolu- 
tionary strife  there,  and  by  customs-house  officers 
and  others  of  the  bureaucracy  of  those  States,  once 
exclaimed  that  the  only  peaceful  moment  of  his 
journey  was  when  he  at  length  entered  the  confines 
of  a  portion  of  "  that  hated  British  monarchy  " — 
British  Honduras  !  This  may  have  been  an 
exaggeration,  but  held  something  of  truth. 

The  little  Republic  of  Salvador,  as  already  re- 
marked, lies  upon  the  Pacific  side  of  this  interesting 
isthmian  region  of  Central  America,  but,  small 
in  size,  it  is  the  most  thickly  populated  and  perhaps 
the  most  prosperous  and  advanced  of  all  this  group 
of  States.  Its  capital,  San  Salvador,  may  be  re- 
garded as  a  fine  example  of  Spanish  American 
culture,  and,  with  its  buildings  and  institutions, 
would  compare  more  than  favourably  with  a 
European  or  North  American  town.  The  climate 
and  general  character  of  the  uplands  upon  which 
it  is  situated,  and  the  social  atmosphere  of  the 
place,  are  pleasing. 

But  the  Pacific  littoral  is  of  that  low  and 
monotonous  character  characteristic  of  the  western 
slope  of  much  of  Central  America,  and  as  a  conse- 
quence the  ports  are  often  difficult  of  access 
through  shoal  water  and  heavy  surf.  The  interior 
is  gained  either  from  La  Libertad  or  Acajutla,  by 
railway  to  the  capital,  ascending  to  2,000  feet 
above  the  sea. 


SALVADOR  79 

The  Republic  shares  with  Honduras  and 
Nicaragua  the  beautiful  Bay  of  Fonseca,  but  this 
beauty  is  characteristically  associated  with  natural 
terrors,  for  not  far  inland  arises  the  dreaded  San 
Miguel  volcano,  one  of  the  worst  burning  moun- 
tains of  Central  America,  ever  threatening  the  life 
of  the  capital.  Upon  this  bay  lies  La  Union,  the 
chief  port  of  Salvador. 

The  Republic  prides  itself,  and  not  unjustly,  upon 
the  freedom  of  its  life  politically.  But  it  is  by 
no  means  immune  from  the  inevitable  factional 
strife  of  Central  America,  the  ambition  of  dic- 
tators and  the  evils  brought  about  by  such 
corruption  of  self-government.  However,  many 
foreigners  carry  on  successful  businesses  in  the 
capital . 

The  population  tends  to  increase  with  some 
rapidity,  and  we  shall  remark  the  much  smaller 
proportion  of  Indians  found  here ;  the  bulk  of 
the  people,  the  Ladinos,  being  a  mixture  of  white 
and  Indian,  distributed  throughout  a  number  of 
pleasing  secondary  towns,  and,  in  the  country  dis- 
tricts, are  engaged  in  the  production  of  coffee, 
sugar,  tobacco  and  other  characteristic  resources  ; 
whilst  the  hills  afford  them;  those  minerals  with 
which  the  region  in  general  is  dowered,  with 
some  mining  establishments,  which,  as  usual,  are 
controlled  by  foreigners. 

The  economic  life  of  Salvador  is  too  greatly 
dependent  upon  European  markets  and  financial 
centres  ;  upon  the  export  of  coffee  thereto ;  upon 
the  elevation  or  depression  of  such  markets— a 


80  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

condition,  of  course,  common  to  many  Spanish 
American  States,  but  which  a  better-ordered 
regimen  will  seek  to  rectify. 

We  might  wander  long  through  the  beautiful 
scenery  of  Salvador,  enjoying  the  grand  and  im- 
posing aspect  of  its  volcanoes,  the  beauty  of  its 
valleys  and  .  streams,  for  this  part  of  Central 
America  is  famed,  or  rather  should  be  famed,  for 
the  beauty  of  the  landscape.  Quaint  towns  and 
curious  products,  the  quiet  and  in  some  respects 
pleasant  life  of  its  folk,  the  budding  industries, 
and  a  certain  promise  for  the  future  leave  a 
pleasant  impression  upon  the  mind  of  the  traveller 
in  this  little  State  facing  the  broad  Pacific. 

Of  the  Republic  of  Nicaragua,  which  we  may 
approach  either  from  the  Atlantic  or  the  Pacific, 
and  which  is  the  largest  of  this  group  of  States, 
many  dismal  descriptions  have  been  given.  It  is 
described  as  economically  and  in  civic  conditions 
the  most  backward.  Yet  some  of  its  towns  are 
fine  places.  Leon  was  described  as  a  splendid 
city  by  travellers  in  1665,  and  about  that  period 
the  very  active  buccaneer  Dampier  gathered  rich 
booty  from  it.  Granada,  founded  by  Cordova  in 
1523,  was  also  one  of  the  richest  cities  in  Central 
America,  and  it,  too,  gave  up  its  toll  of  booty  to 
the  corsairs.  The  Cathedral  of  Leon  is  one  of 
the  most  noteworthy,  massive  and  ornate  of  the 
great  stone  temples  with  which  the  Spaniards 
endowed  the  New  World,  typical  of  the  colonial 
architecture  which  redeems  these  centres  of  life 
from  the  prosaic  vulgarity  of  some  other  lands. 


NICARAGUA  81 

We  may  .visit  these  towns  from  the  line  of  rail- 
way which  runs  from  Corinto,  the  chief  seaport 
on  the  Pacific  coast. 

The  capital  of  the  Republic,  the  city  of 
Managua,  is  of  less  interesting  character,  and  was, 
in  a  measure,  raised  to  that  position  in  order  to 
put  an  end  to  the  rivalry  between  Leon  and 
Granada,  both  of  which  claimed  metropolitan  pre- 
dominance. It  is  situated  upon  the  great  lake 
of  Nicaragua,  the  most  prominent  topographical 
feature  of  this  part  of  Central  America,  and 
which,  it  will  be  recollected,  was  at  one  time 
destined  to  form  part  of  the  waterway  of  a  pro- 
posed trans-isthmian  canal  in  place  of  that  of 
Panama . 

This  great  lake  valley  and  its  adjacent  high- 
lands form  the  most  plentifully  inhabited  part  of 
Nicaragua,  as  the  Spanish  colonial  development 
seized  first  upon  its  more  fertile  soil,  watered  by 
the  lake  and  streams.  This  civilization  entered 
the  country  from  the  Pacific  side,  from  which  we 
remark  the  grim  and  distant  ramparts  of  the 
Central  American  Cordillera,  with  its  volcanoes 
intervening  between  the  western  versant  and 
littoral,  and  the  low,  monotonous  -and  swampy 
region  of  the  east,  and  the  Mosquito  Coast 
bordering  upon  the  Atlantic.  The  Pacific 
coast  here  is  bold  and  rocky,  with  a  headland 
enclosing  the  Bayy  of  Fonseca  in  Nicaraguan 
territory.  ! 

Through  the  Cordillera  flows  the  San  Juan  River, 
draining  this  low  eastern  slope,  and  here  lay  the 

VOL.   I.  6 


82  CENTRAL   AMERICA 

route  of  the  projected  Nicaraguan  Canal,  whose 
abandonment  caused  bitter  disappointment  to  the 
people  of  the  Republic. 

In  places  in  this  wild  land  we  remark  the 
remains  of  the  pre-Colombian  folk,  who  have  left 
vestiges  of  their  temples  and  other  structures,  and 
thus  we  realize  once  more  how  a  chain  of  temple 
and  palace -building  folk  in  ancient  times  was 
carried  down  the  length  of  the  continents  from 
Mexico  to  Peru. 

If  too  gloomy  a  description  of  the  eastern  side 
of  Nicaragua  has  been  given,  this  must  be 
tempered  by  noting  that  it  possesses  certain  natural 
advantages  which  may  render  it  one  of  the  most 
valuable  districts,  from  an  economic  point  of  view, 
in  the  whole  of  Central  America.  Its  rivers  may 
be  navigated  by  ocean-going  steamers,  and  in  the 
Bluefields  district  the  industry  of  banana  produc- 
tion and  shipment  has  risen  to  very  considerable 
importance . 

The  name  of  Nicaragua  comes  from'  that 
powerful  native  chief,  Nicoya,  who,  when 
the  Spaniards  first  arrived,  received  Davila, 
their  leader,  in  a  friendly  spirit,  and  accepted 
Christian  baptism  at  the  hands  of  the  Roman 
Catholic  priests.  But  the  Spaniards  overran 
the  country ;  those  who  invaded  it  from  the 
east  clashing  with  their  own  countrymen  who 
came  in  from  the  west,  and  Nicaragua's  fine  Indian 
chief— pathetic  page  of  native  history — could  not 
conserve  here  anything  of  independence  for  the 
rightful  owners  of  the  soil. 


NICARAGUA  AND  NELSON  83 

The  Spanish  rulers  of  this  unhappy  land  were 
a  dreadful  band,  of  which  it  has  been  recorded 
that  "  the  first  had  been  a  murderer,  the  second 
a  murderer  and  a  rebel,  the  third  murdered  the 
second,  the  fourth  was  a  forger,  the  fifth  a  mur- 
derer and  a  rebel !  " 

In  time  the  Indians  revolted  against  intolerable 
oppression,,  and,  later,  rebellion  after  rebellion 
took  place  against  the  Mother  Country.  After 
Independence,  the  Wars  of  the  Confederation  con- 
stantly deluged  the  soil  with  blood,  and  the 
political  government  of  the  State  was  distinguished 
by  a  continuous  series  of  military  or  civil  revolts, 
during  which  the  land  was  impoverished,  debased 
and  ruined,  and  from  whose  effects  it  has  never 
recovered  so  far. 

Yet  Nicaragua  is  rich  in  natural  products,  agri- 
cultural, forestal  and  mineral. 

Famous  in  local  history  is  the  name  of  the 
North  American  filibuster,  William  Walker,  who 
for  a  space  became  president,  and  the  doings  of 
this  man  and  his  band  are  stirringly  adventurous. 
The  traveller  will  also  recollect  the  long  British 
Protectorate  over  the  Mosquito  Coast. 

But  few  remember  that  Nelson,  the  hero  of 
Trafalgar,  nearly  met  his  death  from  fever  in 
Nicaragua.  The  great  sailor,  sent  to  report  upon 
the  prospect  of  a  canal,  stated  his  intention  of 
occupying  Lake  Nicaragua,  which  in  his  opinion 
was  "  the  inland  Gibraltar  of  Spanish  America," 
whose  possession  would  permanently  sunder 
Spanish  America  into  two  parts.  But  Nature  was 


84  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

against  it .  Nelson  and  his  fprce  ascended  the  river 
to  the  lake  and  successfully  attacked  the  Spanish 
force.  He  was  wounded  by  a  cannon  shot,  fired 
by  a  sixteen-year-old  girl,  wife  of  a  Spanish  officer, 
and  the  maid  was  rewarded  for  the  act  by  her 
people . 

Of  Nelson's  army  of  two  hundred  men  all  but 
ten  perished  of  fever,  and  left  their  bones  in  the 
soil  of  Nicaragua. 

In  the  adjoining  States  of  Costa  Rica  and 
Panama  we  are  approaching  the  narrowing,  curving 
form  of  the  isthmus,  whose  topography  culminates 
in  the  famous  neck  of  land  which  joins  the  twin 
continents  of  America  together,  and  which  has 
been  severed  to  give  access  between  the  world's 
greatest  oceans,  in  the  great  Canal. 

Whence  the  name  of  Costa  Rica?  Their  eyes 
ever  sharp  to  the  glint  of  gold,  the  Spaniards 
who  approached  Central  America  from  the  sea 
immediately  remarked  that  the  swarthy  forms  of 
the  Indians  were  decorated  with  trinkets  of  yellow 
metal.  The  savages  wore  earrings  of  gold,  which 
dangled  invitingly  from  their  scared  countenances 
when  the  bearded  and  armoured  white  warriors 
approached,  and  there  was  little  ceremony  in  the 
transference  of  ownership.  "  This  is  a  rich  coast  1 
This  is  Costa  Rica!"  the  Spaniards  exclaimed. 

Indeed,  it  was  part  of  the  old  culture  area  of 
Chiriqui,  whose  folk  were  clever  producers  of 
native  jewellery  in  gold  and  precious  stones. 
Pedro  de  Alvarado  called  the  whole  region, 
including  Salvador,  Cuscatan,  the  native  Mexican 


COSTA  RICA  85 

name,  meaning  "  Land  of  precious  stones,  of 
treasures  and  abundance."  But  here  in  Costa 
Rica  the  greedy  Iberians  found  disappointingly 
little  gold,  except  for  these  trinkets.  This  region 
was  the  limit  of  the  Maya  civilization. 

To-day  Costa  Rica  is  a  flourishing  little  State, 
with  fertile  soil  and  bright  sunshine,  with  many 
luscious  fruits,  with  food  in  plenty,  famous  for  its 
splendid  coffee,  special  product  of  the  volcanic 
earth  :  a  land  of  small  peasant  owners,  upon  which 
is  founded  some  political  stability  and  civic  pros- 
perity, an  example  to  other  Spanish  American 
States,  where  oligarchies  monopolize  the  country- 
side, and  the  labourer  dwells  in  peonage. 

The  Pacific  coast  here  displays  as  we  approach 
it,  bold  headlands  and  broad  bays,  among  them 
the  Gulf  of  Nicoya,  the  home  of  that  pious-minded 
Indian  chief,  who,  as  before  described,  gave  his 
name  to  the  adjoining  State  of  Nicaragua. 
Studded  with  richly  wooded  islands,  and  famous 
for  its  purple-yielding  murex  (the  beautiful  ancient 
dye  of  the  whelk),  its  pearls  and  mother-of- 
pearl,  is  this  bay,  from  which,  leaving  our  steamer 
at  the  port  of  Punta  Arenas,  we  may  ascend  by 
railway  to  the  pleasing  capital  of  San  Jose  de 
Costa  Rica,  on  a  plateau  between  the  Cordillera 
at  an  elevation  of  nearly  4,000  feet  above  the 
ocean . 

Here  we  are  in  a  well -advanced  city,  the  ameni- 
ties of  whose  public  life  are  creditable  to  Central 
America .  The  line  runs  on  and  descends  to  Puerto 
Limon,  on  the  Atlantic,  thus  crossing  the  isthmus. 


86  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

But,  like  its  neighbours,  Costa  Rica  stands 
perennially  in  awe  of  the  volcanoes  which  top  the 
summit  of  the  Cordillera.  Turialba,  ever  hot  and 
angry,  and  Poas  are  among  these,  pouring  forth 
smoke  and  vapour. 

Let  us  take  our  stand  a  moment  on  Irazu, 
1 1,000  feet  above  the  sea — we  may  reach  it  on 
horseback — higher  than  the  summit  of  the 
Pyrenees,  and  looking  east  and  west  remark  the 
vast  horizons  which  unfold  below  :  on  the  one 
hand  we  see  the  gleaming  waters  of  the  Atlantic, 
on  the  other  those  of  the  Pacific,  whilst,  between, 
the  whole  expanse  of  the  country  unfolds.  Here, 
indeed,  may  the  inhabitant  of  Costa  Rica  cast 
a  glance  over  the  whole  domain  of  his  patria, 
and  let  fancy  wander  over  the  realms  of  ocean 
towards  Europe  and  Asia. 

Costa  Rica  was  peopled  largely  by  Spaniards 
from  Galicia,  but  the  bulk  of  the  folk  are  to-day 
Ladinos  or  Mestizos,  and,  where  the  native  tribes 
have  not  been  exterminated,  there  are  Indians  still 
in  complete  savagery.  The  land  is  one  of  the 
healthiest  in  the  region  we  are  treading,  and  its 
products  of  fruits  and  foods,  of  timber,  tortoise- 
shell,  rubber,  cedar,  mahogany,  ebony,  and  great 
stores  of  bananas,  give  to  the  land  a  further  claim 
to  the  name  of  the  Rich  Coast. 

And  now  our  vessel  floats  upon  the  beautiful 
Bay  of  Panama,  studded  with  verdant  isles,  and 
if  perchance  it  be  the  sunset  hour  the  flashing 
colour  of  the  sky  may  light  up  the  towers  of  the 
old  colonial  city  near  its  shore,  a  romantic  haven, 


PANAMA  87 

whose  memories  of  Drake  and  of  the  cruel  Morgan, 
of  Nunez  de  Balboa,  of  Pizarro,  and  all  that 
gallery  of  bygone  adventurers  who,  made  the 
history  of  the  New  World  upon  these  tropic  shores. 
The  sun  does  not  rise,  however,  in  the  Bay  of 
Panama,  but  sets,  for  the  curvature  of  the  isthmus 
has  disoriented  us,  at  Panama. 

This  independent  Republic  of  Panama  threw  off 
its  allegiance  to  Colombia,  whose  heritage  the 
isthmus  was,  in  a  grandiloquent  manifesto  after 
the  —  alleged  —  machinations  of  the  Americans, 
who,  wearied  of  the  dilatory  tactics  of  the  parent 
State,  laid  hands  on  the  isthmus  to  carry  out  their 
cherished  plan  of  making  the  Canal.  "Just  as  a 
son  withdraws  from  his  paternal  roof,  so  the 
isthmian  people,  in  adopting  the  destiny  they  have 
chosen,  do  so  with  grief,  but  in  compliance  with  the 
supreme  and  inevitable  duty  the  country  owes  to 
itself.  Upon  separating  from  our  brethren  of 
Colombia,  we  do  so  without  hatred  and  without 
joy."  So  ran  the  manifesto. 

But  the  people  of  Bogata,  of  Colombia,  consider 
that  an  unspeakable  outrage  was  perpetuated  upon 
them,  and  regard  the  United  States  and  its  then 
President,  Roosevelt,  as  its  author — an  outrage 
which  time  will  take  long  to  heal. 

We  shall  see  something  of  the  doings  of  the 
immortal  Drake  in  our  journey  down  the  great 
Pacific  coast  of  South  America,  undertaken  in 
another  chapter. 

The  Panama  Isthmus  was  to  Drake  a  vantage 
point,  from  which  he  viewed  a  promised  land. 


88  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

After  his  attack  on  Nombre  de  Dios,  a  fugitive 
slave— a  cimarron — conducted  him  and  his  fol- 
lowers to  the  summit  of  the  isthmian  hills.  There 
lay  before  Drake  the  gleaming  waters  of  the  vast 
Pacific,  as  they  had  lain  before  Balboa.  Drake 
fell  on  his  knees.  He  prayed  to  sail  those  waters 
in  an  English  ship.  It  was  partly  his  destined 
work  of  "Singeing  the  King  of  Spain's  beard." 
Back  to  England  he  went.  The  commission  which 
Queen  Elizabeth  had  given  him  to  sail  the  Spanish 
Main  had  been  honourably  accomplished,  even  if 
the  Spaniards  at  Cartagena  and  elsewhere  did  not 
so  regard  it.  The  queen  must  extend  the  charter 
to  the  Pacific.  She  did  it,  and  Drake's  exploits 
there  and  return  home  westwards  are  among 
the  most  thrilling  annals  of  those  "  spacious 
days." 

Hear  a  tale  now  of  Morgan  the  buccaneer,  and 
Panama,  and  the  dreadful  things  that  befel  that 
city.  Young  Morgan,  born  in  Wales,  kidnapped 
for  a  sailor  in  the  streets  of  Bristol,  also  sailed 
the  Spanish  Main.  Drake  was  a  gentleman ; 
Morgan  seems  to  have  been  a  bloody-minded 
corsair.  At  thirty-three  years  of  age  he  sacked 
Porto  Bello,  committing  frightful  cruelties  and  ex- 
cesses. But  at  Panama  he  surpassed  himself.  Yet 
praise  must  be  given  him  for  his  bravery  and 
resource. 

Ascending  the  Chagres  River  from  Colon  in 
boats,  with  a  dreadful  struggle  over  the  hills, 
Morgan  and  his  men,  like  Drake  and  Balboa, 
beheld  the  Pacific  beyond.  Whether  he  prayed 


DRAKE  AND  MORGAN  89 

for  success  or  not  history  does  not  record.  But 
there  lay  the  rich  city  of  Panama.  It  must  be 
taken.  It  was  defended  by  hundreds  of  Spaniards. 
But  Morgan  had  taken  Chagres  and  killed  three 
hundred  Spaniards  there,  and  double  his  own 
number  at  Panama  did  not  daunt  him.  Down 
they  went  to  Panama.  The  enterprise  was  a  tough 
one,  but  the  result  may  be  seen  to-day  in  the 
massive  ruins  of  the  old  city,  a  sight  for  sightseers, 
buried  in  the  jungle  some  miles  from  the  present 
city.  For  within  a  few  hours  the  buccaneers 
attacked  and  slew  its  defenders  and  burned  the 
place  with  fire,  leaving  but  an  empty  shell,  having 
robbed  it  of  its  treasure,  excepting  that  which 
an  escaping  plate  ship  bore  safely  from  his 
clutches . 

It  has  been  said  in  extenuation  of  Morgan's 
doings  here  that  the  place  was  in  reality  burned 
by  the  Indians  and  the  slaves,  who  were  animated 
by  the  most  bitter  hatred  of  the  Spaniards,  and 
were  quite  ready  to  assist  the  Englishmen. 

The  isthmus  resounded  for  more  than  a  century 
with  the  tramp  of  mules  bearing  gold  and  silver 
from  the  Pacific  plate  ships  ;  the  treasures,  of  Peru, 
of  Bolivia,  the  pearls  of  Nicoya  and  the  isles,  the 
gold  and  silver  stripped  from  the  Inca  temples, 
the  silver  bars  from  Potosi,  the  silver  mountain 
of  the  Andes.  Along  that  dreadful  trail  the  mule- 
trains  groaned  their  way.  It  was  a  rough  road 
for  horsemen. 

The  trail  became,  as  time  went  on,  one  of  the 
world's  greatest  trade  routes,  under  the  develop- 


90 

ment  of  the  Spanish  Colonies.  We  have  seen  how 
the  great  Nelson  hoped  to  split  these  colonies  in 
two  by  establishing  a  "  Gibraltar "  on  Lake 
Nicaragua.  A  toll  of  human  life  has  been  paid 
upon  this  rugged  path  for  every  human  movement 
over  it .  Has  it  not  been  said  that  for  every  sleeper 
in  the  first  Panama  railway  a  human  being  died 
in  the  terrors  of  construction?  If  it  is  not  true,  it 
is  true  that  of  the  eight  hundred  Chinamen  who 
left  the  Flowery  Kingdom  to  build  the  line — 
labourers  who  knew  nothing  of  the  horrors  that 
awaited  them  in  this  fever  death-bed — many  com- 
mitted suicide.  Crowds  of  labouring  peasantry 
from  Ireland  found  here,  too,  a  more  emerald 
grave,  and  hordes  of  negroes  filled  up  with  their 
poor  bodies  any  vacant  tombs. 

Punishment  fell  upon  this  railway,  for,  according 
to  an  American  writer,  it  degenerated  until  its  rails 
"became  nothing  but  two  streaks  of  rust." 

Another  tale  of  Darien  the  fateful :  Listen,  ye 
sons  of  Scotia,  to  the  story  of  one  William 
Paterson,  and  his  New  Edinburgh.  Not  content 
with  having  founded  the  Bank  of  England,  Pater- 
son  must  fight  the  great  East  India  Company,  and 
with  another  enterprising  "  interloper "  he  got 
over-subscribed,  a  company  with  a  capital  of 
£600,000,  and  set  sail  for  the  isthmus  "amid  the 
tears  and  prayers"  of  half  Scotland.  The  new 
settlement  was  "  to  hold  the  key  of  the  world's 
commerce."  "Universal  free  trade"  with  all  the 
world  was  to  be  maintained ;  all  differences  of  race 
and  religion  were  to  be  annulled  in  this  Utopia. 


DARIEN  AND  PATERSON  91 

Death,  fever,  loss,  the  attacks  of  the  Spaniards 
and  complete  disaster — such  was  the  answer  of 
Fate  to  their  enterprise,  and  of  the  two  thousand 
trustful  souls  who  left  the  Clyde  in  the  closing 
year  of  the  seventeenth  century  for  this  desired 
haven  of  the  Spanish  Main,  a  few  hundreds  alone 
returned  to  tell  the  tale. 

Paterson's  idea  was  in  reality  that  of  a  great 
empire -builder.  It  was  a  magnificent  scheme, 
and  only  lacked  the  element  of  success.  England 
might  have  possessed  another  India,  and  in  the 
New  World.  The  Scotch  were  fully  alive  to  the 
position,  but  the  English  were  stupid,  andi  lost  an 
enormous  opportunity. 

The  making  of  the  Panama  Canal  has  greatly 
appealed  to  the  imagination  of  the  world,  although 
its  triumph,  in  a  spectacular  sense,  was  interfered 
with  by  the  rise  of  the  Great  War.  Here  was  a 
wild  isthmus  which  cut  off  the  Atlantic  from  the 
Pacific,  Europe  from  Asia  to  the  west.  An 
isthmus  which,  whilst  it  formed  a  barrier  between 
two  oceans,  did  not,  nevertheless,  serve  as  a  bridge 
between  two  continents  :  those  of  North  and  South 
America.  Its  construction  is  an  epic  of  engineer- 
ing, and,  be  it  added,  of  medical  skill,  for  without 
the  latter  the  former  would  have  been  of  no  avail. 
What  has  been  picturesquely  described  as  the 
"  Conquest  of  the  mosquito,"  also  the  conquest  of 
malaria  and  yellow  fever,  enabled  this  work  to 
be  done.  Formerly  the  traveller  hurried'  fearfully 
from  his  steamer  at  Colon  by  rail  across  the  neck 
to  Panama,  and  if  his  journey  lay  beyond  to  his 


92  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

steamer  at  Panama,  anxious  to  leave  the  deadly 
region  as  soon  as  were  possible.  Now  no  such 
anxiety  marks  his  journey. 

The  fight  against  the  natural  obstacles  to  the 
work — those  of  climate,  of  inefficient  labour,  of 
mountainous  cuttings,  of  floods,  of  finance  and 
political  intrigue,  and  all  else,  was  brought  to  an 
end — or  mainly  so — in  November  1913,  four 
hundred  years  after  Balboa's  dramatic  discovery 
of  the  Pacific  from  the  "  Peak  in  Darien  "  ;  when 
a  vast  concourse  of  people  witnessed  the  great 
explosion  that  blew  up  the  last  barrier,  and  a  small 
steamer,  the  little  French  steamboat  Louise,  which, 
twenty-five  years  before  had  conveyed  de  Lesseps 
to  turn  the  first  sod,  passed  completely,  on  its  own 
keel,  across  from  Atlantic  to  Pacific  waters — an 
act  of  American  courtesy  to  France. 

Several  lessons  were  learned  by  the  construction 
of  the  Panama  Canal.  One  was  that  corruption 
and  inertia  among  officials  will  ruin  all  effort,  as 
it  did  with  the  French — who,  however,  did  very 
valuable  work  on  the  Canal.  Another  that,  with 
modern  appliances  and  just  methods,  even  so 
stupendous  a  work  could  be  carried  to  success, 
even  in  the  face  of  enormous  natural  obstacles  ; 
that  the  obstacles  raised  by  Nature  are  less  for- 
midable than  those  man  raises  himself. 

Another  lesson  was  in  the  methods  of  over- 
coming the  dreadful  tropical  diseases  of  yellow 
fever  and  malaria. 

The  last  lesson  was  in  the  treatment  of  labour, 
in  this  case  that  of  the  negro  ;  a  matter  of  much 


THE   PANAMA  CANAL  93 

importance  to  all  tropical  lands,  which  may  justify 
here  a  few  words. 

A  great  part  of  the  labour  employed  on  the 
Canal,  in  fact,  the  majority  of  it  later,  was  that 
of  the  West  Indian  negro,  largely  from  Barbadoes. 
But  it  was  soon  found  that  this  labour  was  very 
inefficient.  The  negro  would  not  or  could  not 
"put  his  back"  into  the  work.  In  1906  an 
American  commission  appointed  to  investigate  con- 
ditions, reported  upon  the  impossibility  of  conclud- 
ing the  job  with  negro  labour.  "  Not  only  do  they 
seem  to  be  disqualified  by  lack  of  actual  vitality, 
but  their  disposition  to  labour  seems  to  be  as  frail 
as  their  bodily  strength,"  ran  the  report.  The 
negro  was,  in  fact,  roundly  cursed  as  a  lazy  or 
incapable  hound. 

But  some,  wiser  than  others,  thought  there  must 
be  a  came  below  this  inertia.  Such,  indeed,  was 
found  to  be  the  case.  It  was  shown  that  the 
negro  either  could  not  afford,  or  was  too  idle  to 
prepare,  proper  food  for  himself ;  in  short,  that  he 
was  ill -nourished.  A  few  bananas,  and  whatever 
else  the  difficult  conditions  of  the  isthmus  afforded, 
formed  his  meals.  It  was  then  resolved  that  he 
must  be  properly  fed  and  housed.  A  commissariat 
was  set  up,  at  which  the  negro  was  obliged  to 
take  his  meals,  and  the  bare  cost  was  deducted 
from  his  wages.  No  profit  was  to  be  made.  The 
system  answered  admirably ;  the  actual  cost  was 
found  to  be  only  thirty  cents  American  money, 
equal  to  about  one  shilling  and  threepence,  for  a 
day's  board  of  good  food.  The  result  was  that 


94  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

the  negro  performed  entirely  satisfactory  labour, 
and  he  practically  built  the  Canal. 

Many  writers  have  sung  of  the  deeds  of  the 
Canal  building,  which  must  always  furnish  a 
thrilling  story  of  the  triumph  of  human  genius,  and 
we  need  not  enter  upon  it  here. 

The  Great  War  over,  the  American  fleet — which 
had  played  a  valuable  and  noble  part — accom- 
plished, in  July  1919,  a  spectacular  passage  of 
the  Canal,  which  brings  us  to-day  again  to  realize 
the  strategic  value  of  the  waterway.  Some  two 
hundred  vessels  of  war,  flying  the  Stars  and 
Stripes,  including  six  Dreadnoughts,  embodying  the 
American  Pacific  fleet,  entered  the  eastern  end  of 
the  Canal  as  the  sun  was  rising  in  the  Spanish1 
Main.  But  before  the  orb  of  day  had  turned  its 
"  westering  wheel  "  into  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific, 
the  great  procession  had  passed  through  the  Canal 
and  was  ruffling  the  waters  of  that  great  sea,  thus 
accomplishing  in  a  few  hours,  a  passage  which 
the  battleship  Oregon,  during  the  American  war 
with  Spain  in  1898,  had  taken  nearly  two  weeks 
to  make,  around  the  South  American  Continent. 

The  Americans  have  fortified  the  Canal,  but 
blockading  would  be  in  contravention  of  the 
Hay-Pauncefote  Treaty  with  England ;  and 
indeed  it  is  to  be  hoped  and  believed  that  the 
United  States  will  prove  a  conscientious  guardian 
of  her  charge  and  creation.  Yet  the  future  may 
have  much  in  store  in  this  region  for  good  or  ill. 

Enthusiastic  descriptions;  of  the  possibility  of  the 
Canal  to  commerce  have  been  written,  in  the  short- 


SOCIOLOGY  95 

ening  of  distances,  in  the  "  shrinkage  of  the  world," 
and  there  is  no  doubt  of  its  great  utility,  which 
it  is  not,  however,  needful  to  exaggerate.  Since 
the  project  was  conceived  and  executed,  the  world 
has  learned  that  more  than  the  passage  of  arma- 
ments and  argosies  of  merchandise  are  requisite 
for  the  stability  and  progress  of  mankind. 

A  glance  now  at  the  general  life  of  the  people 
of  these  States.1 

In  the  aggregate  the  population  numbers  some- 
what over  five  million  souls,  but  they  tend  to 
increase  more  rapidly  than  others  of  the  Spanish 
American  countries,  or  at  least  in  some  of  the 
Republics,  for  the  native  women  are  prolific,  and 
mortality  is  low,  due  to  the  comparatively  easy  con- 
ditions of  life  and  the  beneficence  of  Nature.  In 
some  districts  illegitimacy,  both  among  whites  and 
Indians,  is  very  marked,  and  the  economic  condi- 
tion in  a  modern  sense  is  a  low  one.  Primary 
education  is  generally  compulsory,  the  Governments 
generally  making  considerable  parade  of  educa- 
tional intentions,  but,  withal,  only  a  small  pro- 
portion of  the  population  can  read  and  write. 
Naturally  this  is  true  mainly  of  the  Indian  and 
lower  class  mixed  race. 

As  to  food,  this  is  mainly  such  vegetable  pro- 
ducts as  maize,  beans  and  bananas,  and  at  times 
jerked  meat.  Excessive  drinking  is  a  frequent 
attribute  of  all  Spanish  American  folk  of  the  work- 
ing classes,  and  it  is  not  in  the  financial  interests 

T  »  A  full  account  of  all  these  States  will  be  found  in  Central 
America,  Koebel,  South  American  Series. 


96  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

of  their  masters  to  stint  the  supply  of  liquors,  the 
fiery  aguadientes  or  spirits,  which  are  so  remuner- 
ative a  product  of  the  sugar-cane  plantations,  pos- 
sessions of  the  large  landowners  frequently.  The 
Indians  are  generally  a  peaceful  folk,  however, 
except  when  under  the  influence  of  liquor,  and  they 
have  many  good  qualities,  which  it  is  time  should 
now  be  more  beneficently  and  wisely  fostered  by 
those  in  whose  hands  their  destiny  so  greatly  lies. 
The  Central  American  States  are  dowered,  as 
regards  Nature,  with  almost  everything  that  could 
make  a  people  happy  and  prosperous.  The  vary- 
ing elevations  of  their  lands  above  sea-level  afford 
every  variety  of  climate,  and  consequently  of  food 
product  and  industrial  material.  They  can  enjoy 
their  own  beef  and  corn,  produced  in  their  high- 
lands, or,  descending  to  the  torrid  strip  of  their 
coasts,  gather  coffee,  cocoa,  bananas,  oranges, 
sugar-cane,  and  a  variety  of  fruits  which  tempt 
both  the  eye  and  the  palate .  As  for  their  minerals, 
the  precious  metals  of  gold  and  silver  in  the  hills 
could  provide  sufficient  for  their  uses  and  to  spare, 
the  baser  for  manufactures.  The  timber  of  the 
forests  is  rich  and  varied,  the  fibrous  plants  are 
of  innumerable  uses. 

The  noble  landscapes  which  open  to  the  view, 
of  wooded  mountains  and  majestic  peak,  of 
romantic  river  valley,  and  the  blue  line  of  the 
tropic  sea,  are  such  as  might  well  bring  out  those 
attributes  of  the  poet  and  the  artist  which  exist 
in  the  Spanish  American  mentality. 

In  brief,  there  are  here,  in  each  State,  the  ele- 


97 

ments  of  a  quiet  and  pleasing  existence,  far,  it  is 
true,  from  the  world's  more  ambitious  centres,  but 
nevertheless  capable  of  producing  peace  and  plenty . 
Alas !  however,  for  the  unsettled  temperament 
which  cannot  yet  assimilate  the  bounties  of  Provi- 
dence in  such  method  as  shall  ensure  their 
equitable  enjoyment. 

To  the  foreign  traveller,  Central  America  might 
afford  an  extremely  pleasing  field  of  travel.  There 
is  a  charm  in  the  remains  of  the  prehistoric 
American  cultures,  the  carved  walls  of  the  old 
temples,  the  buried  idols,  the  ancient  industries. 
Restful  and  quaint  are  these  little  towns  with  the 
stamp  of  the  Spanish  Colonial  architecture.  Here 
man  and  Nature  soon  forget  the  bloodshed  and  the 
enmity  of  the  torn  and  stained  pages  of  history. 
The  simple  folk  of  the  countryside  are  full  of 
courtesy,  the  needs  of  life  are  cheap  and  plentiful, 
for  the  earth  is  bountiful.  All  these  are  elements 
which  impress  themselves  upon  the  mind  of  the 
traveller  here. 

This,  then,  is  Central  America,  that  region  so 
slightly  known  to  the  world  outside  that,  as  else- 
where remarked,  its  very  geographical  position  is 
often  a  matter  of  doubt.  But,  in  the  future — it 
may  be  distant — it  cannot  be  doubted  that,  with  its 
advantages,  the  region  must  play  a  more  important 
part  in  the  developing  world. 

Three  Latin  American  island-Republics  enclose 
the  Caribbean  Sea  and  Spanish  Main  to  the  north  : 
those  of  Cuba,  Hayti,  and  Santo  Domingo,  upon 
which,  however,  we  cannot  here  dilate  at  length. 

VOL.   I.  7 


98  CENTRAL  AMERICA 

Nature  has,  in  general,  endowed  these  regions 
of  the  Antilles  with  great  beauty,  but  man,  in  their 
past  history,  has  made  them  the  scene  of  the  utmost 
cruelty,  first  by  the  Spaniards,  in  the  ill-treatment 
and  extermination  of  the  gentle  and  harmless 
natives,  and  second,  in  the  slave  trade. 

Cuba  stretches  its  long,  thin  bulk  from  the 
Yucatan  Strait,  off  the  Mexican  coast,  and  the  line 
is  continued  by  the  Island  of  Hayti,  containing 
the  Republic  of  that  name,  the  famous  Hispaniola 
of  the  days  of  the  Conquistadores,  now  a  French- 
speaking  negro  State,  and  Santo  Domingo,  whose 
capital,  the  oldest  settlement  in  the  New  World, 
founded  in  1496,  may  be  regarded  as  the  most 
perfect  example  of  a  sixteenth -century  Spanish 
town.  Its  cathedral  contains  the  reputed  burial 
place  of  Columbus. 

No  countries  in  the  world  excel  these  lands  in 
the  variety  and  richness  of  their  tropical  products, 
and  in  the  beauty  of  their  scenery.  Havana,  the 
handsome  capital  of  Cuba,  was  the  last  stronghold 
of  Spain  in  America,  the  Spanish  flag  flying  there 
tintil  the  time  of  the  war  between  Spain  and  the 
United  States  in  1899.  The  American  attitude 
towards  Cuba  revealed  the  wisdom  and  generosity 
of  the  great  Anglo-Saxon  Republic. 

Our  way  now  lies  to  the  north,  into  Mexico,  that 
buffer-state  between  the  Spanish  American  and  the 
Anglo  -  American  civilizations,  which,  upon  its 
frontier,  roll  together  but  do  not  mingle. 


CHAPTER    IV 
ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

OF  all  the  lands  of  the  New  World,  none  .perhaps 
has  impressed  itself  more  on  the  imagination  than 
the  picturesque  and  enigmatical  land  of  Mexico. 
It  seems  to  stand,  in  our  thoughts  of  distant 
countries,  apart  from  all  others,  a  riddle  we  cannot 
read,  surrounded  by  a  halo  or  mist  of  unreality,  a 
region  vague  and  shadowy  as  its  Toltec  ancestors. 
Perhaps  this  view  has  in  part  arisen  from  the 
description  of  the  Conquest  by  famous  writers, 
which  so  greatly  interested  our  forbears  of  the 
Victorian  period,  and  by  the  romantic  story-writers 
of  the  same  era.  But  these  matters  alone  would 
not  account  for  the  hazy  atmosphere  surrounding 
the  old  land  of  the  Aztecs,  which  even  the  prosaic 
matters  of  trade  and  finance  do  not  seem  to  lift. 
There  are  many  English  and  American  folk  with 
commercial  interests  in  Mexico,  who  draw  per- 
haps, or  in  happier  times  there  have  drawn,  divi- 
dends from  their  investment  in  mine,  or  railway,  or 
other  enterprise  ;  but  even  this  material  standpoint 
fades  into  intangibility  before  the  endeavour  to 
form  a  true  mental  image  of  the  land. 


100     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Who  are  the  Mexicans,  where  does  their  country 
lie,  what  language  do  they  speak,  what  dress  do 
they  wear  ?  Geography  and  ethnology  will  furnish 
us  with  the  most  exact  replies ;  the  books  of 
travellers  will  fill  in  abundant  detail,  but  neverthe- 
less, Mexico  remains  for  us  an  enigma. 

We  shall  not  hope  here  successfully  to  dispel  this 
mystery,  even  though  we  may  have  been  there, 
traversed  its  varied  surface,  and  lived  among  its 
people.  To  say  that  Mexico  is  the  Egypt  of  the 
New  World,  whilst  it  is  not  untrue,  is  to  deepen 
the  atmosphere.  The  sandalled  Indian  creeps 
across  his  desert  sands  and  irrigates  them  with 
his  native  torrents  as  he  did  in  centuries  past, 
lives  in  his  wattle  or  adobe  hut,  and,  if  he  no 
longer  worships  the  sun,  at  least  he  stands  before 
its  morning  rays  to  embrace  its  warmth — el  capa  de 
los  pobres  ("the  poor  man's  cloak  ") — for  poverty 
denies  him  other  comfort .  The  rich  man  is  clothed 
in  fine  textures  of  European  model  and  may  dwell 
in  a  palace,  but  beneath  his  modernized  exterior 
are  traits  of  the  Orient,  and  the  blood  of  the  Moor, 
the  Goth,  the  Vandal,  the  Roman,  the  Celt,  the 
Semite,  brought  hither  in  the  Spaniard,  is  mingled 
with  that  of  the  Aztec,  who  lived  upon  the  great 
plateau  and  built  his  temples  of  strange  and  bloody 
worship . 

No  other  American  nation  constitutes  so  wide  a 
blending  of  original  races.  Spain  itself  was  a 
veritable  crucible  of  languages,  peoples  and  creeds, 
whilst  aboriginal  Mexico  contained  a  large  number 
of  tribes,  each  with  their  particular  culture,  or  lack 


NEW  SPAIN  101 

of  such.1  For  Mexico,  it  is  to  be  recollected, 
was  not  a  land  like  the  United  States  or  Canada, 
which  contained,  relatively,  but  a  few  bands  of 
Indians,  without  any  particular  form  of  government 
or  developed  institutions. 

The  grandees  of  Spain  came  out  to  rule  this 
diversified  land,  and  they  did  not  disdain  to  make 
it  their  home.  Spain  gave  it  of  her  best  often, 
with  capable  legislators,  laws ;  the  Ley  de  Indias, 
enacted  for  the  benefit  of  the  colonies,  and  erudite 
professors  and  devout — over-devout — ecclesiastics  ; 
and  these  often  carried  out  their  work  with 
patriotism  and  fervency.  Although  it  is  not  yet, 
the  student  of  history  will  be  fain  to  think  that  out 
of  this  seed  a  good  growth  must  in  the  future 
come  to  being,  and  this  we  may  say  without  any 
unnecessary  apologetics  for  Mexico. 

But  what,  we  may  ask,  is  the  influence  here, 
that  throws  back  this  fruitful  land'  from  time 
to  time  to  anarchy,  and/  makes  its  name  a 
byword  ? 

Disorder  and  treachery  periodically  arises,  dic- 
tator succeeds  dictator,  revolution  follows  revolu- 
tion, and  the  country's  soil,  whether  in  the  streets 
of  its  capital,  whether  upon  its  desert  plains  or  in 
its  tropic  valleys,  is  drenched  with  the  blood  of  its 
own  sons.  The  results  of  thirty  years  of  a  con- 
structive national  policy  which  Diaz  gave,  the  hopes 

1  Some  of  these  tribes  were  unutterably  savage  and  brutal, 
but  it  is  doubtful  if  their  methods  were  worse  than  those  of  the 
Anglo-Saxon  who  invaded  Britain,  with  the  repulsive  horrors 
they  visited  upon  the  early  Britains,  in  wholesale  massacre 
and  torture  of  the  Celts. 


102     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

and  pretensions  of  a  high  civilization,  laboriously 
built  up,  sink  down  to  nought,  revert  to  the  con- 
ditions of  that  dreadful  half -century  that  followed 
upon  Independence,  from  which  stand  forth  the 
names — noble  and  ignoble — of  Iturbide,  Maxi- 
milian, Juarez,  or  Morelos.  What  ails  this  strange 
land  ?  Is  it  capable  of  no  better  life  ? 

In  reply,  Mexico  is  a  land  following  the  inevit- 
able law  of  reaping  what  it  has  sown,  and  both  the 
sowing  and  the  reaping  are  but  exaggerated  forms 
of  processes  that  are  affecting  the  world  at  large. 
Judgment  must  not  be  too  heavily  passed  upon 
Mexico  as  a  whole,  for,  as  I  shall  later  show,  a 
whole  nation  must  not  be  condemned  by  reason  of 
some  of  its  nationals. 

Mexico,  like  all  Spanish  American  States,  is  at 
the  mercy,  politically  and  economically,  of  certain 
small  sections  of  the  people.  Government  is  of  an 
oligarchy  in  normal  times,  which  often  abuses  its 
position.  The  bulk  of  the  people  have  neither 
art  nor  part  in  their  own  governance.  The  ballot 
box  is  too  often  a  delusion  and  a  snare.  A  tur- 
bulent or  ambitious  element  can  seize  power  at 
any  moment  by  a  golpe  de  estado  (a  coup  d'etat}. 
The  upper  and  refined  class,  which,  be  it  said,  is 
the  equivalent  of  and  as  well-informed  often  as  that 
in  Europe,  stand  aloof  from  political  revolution  and 
disturbance,  and  would  be  the  last  to  commit  the 
excesses  which  bring  execration  upon  the  country's 
name.  The  educated  Mexican  has  all  the  tradi- 
tions of  the  caballero,  the  gentleman  ;  the  Mexican 
lady  is  refined,  devout,  delicate  and  tenderhearted. 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  CLIMATE   103 

The  peon  and  the  Indian  are  not  turbulent,  but 
well-meaning  and  generally  industrious. 

These  matters  we  shall  further  consider ;  for  the 
moment  let  us  pass  on  to  survey  the  land  itself, 
to  traverse  its  wide  and  diversified  surface,  with 
its  many  elements  of  beauty,  interest  and  utility. 

Here,  then,  is  a  land  of  vast  extent,  in  which 
various  European  countries  could  be  contained ; 
stretching  from  the  borders  of  Central  America 
northward  to  those  of  the  United  States,  two 
thousand  miles  long  upon  its  major  axis,  shaped 
upon  the  map  like  a  cornucopia,  washed  on  one 
side  by  the  Atlantic,  on  the  other  by  the  Pacific, 
and  containing  within  itself  every  resource  of  Nature 
which  could  make  for  plenty  and  progress.  Its 
southern  half  lies  within  the  Tropics,  but  consisting 
in  great  part  of  an  elevated  tableland,  where  the 
diurnal  range  of  temperature — from  the  heat  of  the 
day  to  the  cold  of  the  night — is  so  considerable 
that  latitude  we  find  is  not  a  reliable  guide  to 
climate . 

This  great  plateau,  whose  escarpments,  viewed 
as  we  approach  from  either  side  present  the 
appearance  of  mountains,  is  in  large  part  sterile, 
treeless,  and  without  rivers  of  importance  or  navi- 
gability. But  it  is  crossed  by  ranges  of  steely-blue 
hills  and  intersected  by  fertile  valleys,  where  agri- 
culture is  carried  on  under  irrigation — an  ancient 
art  by  means  of  canals  fed  from  the  intermittent 
streams.  Cacti,  strange  and  gaunt,  clothe  it  by 
nature,  but  there  are  large  coniferous  forests  upon 
the  mountain  slopes  in  places. 


104     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Do  we  approach  the  country  from  the  north,  by 
the  railway  lines  from  the  United  States  border, 
we  traverse  deserts  among  the  most  dreadful  of 
the  New  World,  deserts  yet  with  a  certain  cruel 
beauty  of  their  own,  where  once  the  Apache 
roamed — cruellest  and  most  horrible  of  all  the 
world's  savage  folk. 

But  Nature  has  disposed  along  this  high  plateau, 
vast,  fabulously  vast  mineral  wealth,  and  from  the 
famous  mines  of  Guanajuato,  Zacatecas,  Chihua- 
hua, Durango,  Potosi,  Aguascalientes,  Pachuca ; 
and  places — some  of  them  noble  towns,  dowered 
with  royal  charters  before  the  Mayflower  sailed  for 
New  England — silver  and  gold  poured  forth  to  fill 
the  needy  coffers  of  Spain.  Later,  the  English 
shareholder  tried  his  hands  upon  the  "  mother- 
lode  "  with  varying  fortune,  and  copper,  iron  and 
other  metals  also  came  like  magic  from  the  rocks 
of  this  great  wilderness. 

On  the  eastern  and  western  versants  of  the 
country,  and  in  the  south,  we  encounter  a  different 
landscape.  Here  Nature  smiles.  In  places  it  may 
be  hot  and  humid,  perhaps  malarious,  with  tangled 
forests.  But  rich  vegetation,  gorgeous  flora  and 
profuse  animal  life — bird,  insect,  reptile — abound. 
Here  are  fruitful  plains  and  valleys,  vast  sugar- 
cane plantations,  luscious  fruits  of  kinds  unknown 
to  the  world  outside — among  them  the  mamey,  the 
"  fruit  of  the  Aztec  kings,"  with  orange  and  banana 
groves,  coffee  gardens,  cocoa-trees,  yielding  the 
chocolatl  of  the  Aztecs,  rubber -trees  with  elegant 
foliage,  whilst  above,  the  graceful  coco-palm  rears 


TOPOGRAPHY  AND  CLIMATE       105 

its  stately  column  and  feathery  plume  high  against 
the  azure  sky. 

Here,  indeed,  is  a  region  where  it  might  have 
been  supposed  that  man  could  dwell  in  peace  and 
plenty,  with  a  minimum  of  toil  and  ambition,  of 
care  and  evil. 

The  climatic  zones  of  Mexico  were  named  by 
the  Spaniards  in  accordance  with  the  condition  of 
their  varying  temperatures  respectively,  as,  the 
Tierra  Caliente,  or  hot  lands,  the  Tierra  Templada, 
or  temperate  lands,  and  the  Tierra  Fria,  or  cold 
lands :  the  first  lying  upon  the  coast,  the  second 
midway  up  the  slopes,  and  the  last  the  higher 
regions,  reaching  an  elevation  of  8,000  to  10,000 
feet  and  more  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

In  this  intennediate  zone  of  the  Tierra  Templada 
lies  a  land  which  has  been  not  unjustly  termed  a 
region  of  perpetual  spring,  a  truly  desirable  land, 
where  the  fortunate  inhabitant  lives  close  to  the 
kindly  earth  as  if  in  some  mortal  paradise — as  far 
as  Nature  is  concerned.  In  the  high  zone,  healthful 
and  invigorating,  lies  the  beautiful  city  of  Mexico 
in  its  enclosed  valley ;  and  many  a  handsome  town 
is  found  throughout  the  three  zones. 

This  city  of  Mexico  was  the  coveted  prize  of 
Cortes  and  his  Spaniards,  and  through  the  varying 
zones  they  passed  after  having,  on  that  Good 
Friday  in  1519,  landed  on  the  shores  to  which 
they  gave  the  name  of  Vera  Cruz — the  place  of  the 
True  Cross.  Across  the  waters  of  the  Gulf  as 
they  approached  the  unknown  land  was  seen  the 
gleaming  peak  of  Orizaba,  called  by  the  natives 


106     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Citlalteptl,  or  the  Mountain  of  the  Star,  hanging 
in  mid-heaven,  its  point  over  thirteen  thousand  feet 
above  the  sea. 

From  the  shore,  the  native  runners  of  Monte  - 
zuma  bore  swiftly  upwards  to  the  mountain  city 
news  of  the  white  man's  arrival — long  expected 
of  old,  from  the  traditions  of  Quetzalcoatl,  the 
mystic  god-man  of  white  race.  These  messengers 
made  curious  but  faithful  "  picture-writings,"  on 
Mexican  paper,  of  the  great  "  water -houses  "  or 
caravels  swinging  in  the  bay,  the  dread  "  men- 
animals  "  or  horsemen,  and  the  thunderous  guns  of 
the  Spaniards,  and  hastened  thence  to  warn  their 
master. 

Swiftly  they  returned  from  the  mountains.  4<  Go 
back,"  the  Aztec  Emperor  said,  "  come  not  hither, 
the  road  is  long  and  difficult,"  and  he  sent  presents 
— a  huge  wheel  of  gold  and  beautiful  feather  work 
and  other  objects. 

But  Cortes,  heeding  not  the  message,  burned 
his  boats  ;  the  customary  Mass  was  rendered  by 
the  Padre  Olmedo — the  Spaniards  were  always 
devout,  partly  in  sincerity,  partly  as  a  custom — 
and  the  adventurers  set  forth  on  that  remarkable 
and  adventurous  journey  which  forms  one  of  the 
most  thrilling  episodes  in  early  American  history. 
Let  us  briefly  review  it. 

The  Spaniards  have  allied  themselves,  in  the 
fruitful  land  of  Tlascala — the  "  Land  of  Bread  " 
in  the  native  tongue — with  the  Tlascalans,  foes  at 
first  but  friends  afterwards,  and  then  began  the 
most  stirring  events  of  their  march.  * 


CONQUEST  OF  MEXICO  107 

"  The  Tlascalans  were  a  people  who  had  devel- 
oped a  remarkable  civilization  and  social  and 
military  organization,  akin  to  that  of  the  Aztecs. 
On  the  arrival  of  the  messengers  of  Cortes  much 
dissension  had  prevailed  in  their  councils,  some  of 
the  chiefs — the  community  was  ruled  by  a  council 
of  four — maintaining  that  this  was  an  opportunity 
for  vengeance  against  their  hereditary  enemies,  the 
hated  Aztecs  and  their  prince,  Montezuma .  '  Let 
us  ally  ourselves  with  these  terrible  strangers,'  they 
urged,  'and  march  against  the  Mexicans.'  For 
the  doings  of  the  Spaniards  had  echoed  through 
the  land  already,  with  a  tale  of  smitten  tribes  and 
broken  idols.  But  the  wily  old  Xicotencatl  thought 
otherwise .  '  What  do  we  know  of  their  purpose  ?  * 
was  his  counsel ;  so  it  was  agreed  that  the  army 
of  the  Tlascalans  and  Otomies,  who  were  in  force 
near  the  frontier,  under  the  command  of  the  fiery 
young  warrior— son  of  old  Xicotencatl,  and  bear- 
ing the  same  name — should  attack  them.  '  If  we 
fail,'  the  old  barbarian  urged,  '  we  will  disavow 
the  act  of  our  general ;  if  we  win '  1 

"The  stone  fortification  at  the  valley's  end  had 
been  undefended,  and  with  Cortes  at  their  head 
the  Spaniards  entered  Tlascalan  territory.  Skir- 
mishing was  followed  by  a  pitched  battle  between 
the  Christians  and  the  Tlascalans,  in  which  the 
firearms  and  lances  of  the  Spaniards  wrought 
terrible  havoc  on  their  antagonists.  Astounded  at 
the  sight  of  the  horses— those  extraordinary  beings, 
whether  of  animal  or  demoniacal  origin  they  knew 
not — and  appalled  by  the  thundering  of  the  guns, 


108     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

which  seemed  to  have  some  superhuman  source, 
the  Tlascalans  at  first  fell  back.  But  they  over- 
came their  fears,  fell  savagely  upon  the  invaders, 
and  were  with  difficulty  repulsed,  having  managed 
to  kill  two  of  the  horses.  Greatly  to  Cortes's 
regret  was  this,  for  the  noble  animals  were  few, 
and — more  serious  still — their  death  removed  that 
semi -superstitious  dread  regarding  them,  which  the 
natives  held.  However,  the  Spaniards  afterwards 
buried  them  from  sight. 

"  Night  fell,  a  season  when  the  Indians  fought 
not,  but  on  the  morrow  the  messengers  which  had 
been  sent  to  the  Tlascalans  arrived — having  escaped 
— with  the  news  that  the  enemy  was  approaching 
in  great  force.  So  indeed  it  befel,  and  upon  the 
plain  in  front  of  the  Spaniards  appeared  a  mighty 
host,  varyingly  estimated  between  thirty  and  a 
hundred  thousand  warriors.  The  Spaniards  with 
their  allies  numbered — fearful  odds  1 — about  three 
thousand.  'The  God  of  the  Christians  will  bear 
us  through/  said  the  brave  and  beautiful  Marina. 
A  frightful  battle  now  ensued,  the  issue  of  which 
hung  in  the  scale  for  hours.  Charging,  volleying, 
borne  this  way  and  that  by  the  flood  of  the  enemy's 
numbers,  the  gallant  band  of  the  Spaniards 
snatched  victory  from  almost  certain  defeat,  their 
superior  weapons  and  cavalry,  together  with  the 
bad  tactics  of  the  Indians,  who  knew  not  how  to 
employ  their  unwieldy  army  to  best  advantage,  at 
length  decided  the  day  for  the  Christians,  who 
inflicted  terrible  punishment  upon  their  foes .  The 
Tlascalans'  policy  now  showed  signs  of  weakening, 


THE  CONQUEST  109 

but  further  assaults  were  necessary,  and  some 
treachery,  under  the  guise  of  friendship,  having 
been  discovered  on  the  part  of  the  fifty  Tlascalan 
envoys  to  the  Spanish  camp,  Cortes  barbarously 
cut  off  the  hands  of  these  and  sent  them  back  to 
tell  the  tale. 

"The  upshot  of  these  engagements  was  that 
the  Tlascalans  capitulated,  apologized  for  their 
conduct,  invited  the  strangers  to  take  possession  of 
their  capital,  and  assured  them  that  they  would 
now  be  allies,  not  enemies,  of  the  white  men,  who 
were  undoubtedly  the  representative  of  the  great 
and  long-expected  Quetzalcoatl .  The  joy  in  the 
Spanish  camp  at  this  turn  of  affairs  knew  no 
bounds ;  well  did  the  Spaniards  know  that  the 
continued  opposition  of  the  Indians  would  have 
been  their  ruin,  whilst  in  their  alliance  was  salvation 
and  the  key  to  the  Conquest. 

"  Behold  the  war-worn  and  hungry  Spaniards, 
lean  and  tattered  from  marching  and  privations 
in  the  inclement  uplands,  now  installed  in  comfort 
in  the  centre  of  the  powerful  Tlascalan  capital. 
Forth  had  come  to  greet  them  young  Xicotencatl, 
who,  to  do  him  justice,  took  upon  himself  the 
responsibility  of  the  war ;  and  as  the  Spaniards 
entered  the  capital  the  streets  were  lined  with 
men,  women  and  children,  and  decorated  with 
garlands  of  flowers  as  for  a  triumphal  procession. 
The  old  chief  who  had  urged  for  opposition  now 
changed  his  tactics,  and  as  Cortes  entered  he  em- 
braced him,  passing  his  hand  over  the  face  of  the 
Spaniard  to  see  what  manner  of  man  he  was,  for 


110     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

the  aged  Tlascalan  was  blind,  having  reached,  it 
has  been  said — probably  with  exaggeration — a 
hundred  and  forty  years  of  age  !  *  The  city  is 
much  larger  than  Granada,'  wrote  Cortes  to 
Carlos  V,  with  a  description  of  its  markets,  shops, 
houses  and  intelligent  and  industrious  population. 

"  Six  weeks  the  Spaniards  sojourned  there,  recu- 
perating their  energies,  living  on  the  best  the 
plentiful  land  afforded — Tlascala  signified  in  the 
Indian  tongue  *  the  land  of  bread  ' — taking  wives 
from  among  the  maidens,  the  chiefs'  daughters, 
and  endeavouring,  first  with  the  foolish  haste  of 
Cortes  and  then  with  the  slow  prudence  of  Father 
Olmedo,  to  instil  some  tenets  of  the  Christian 
religion  into  their  hosts.  But  religious  fervour  had 
to  give  way  to  material  necessities,  and  the  Tlas- 
calan idols  remained  unsmitten,  although  their 
human  sacrifices  were  somewhat  stayed. 

"  Rested  and  mended,  the  Spaniards  now  set 
impatient  gaze  upon  the  oak-  and  fir-clad  mountain 
slopes  which  bounded  the  valley.  Above  them 
loomed  upward  the  great  Malinche,  snow-capped 
queen  of  the  Tlascalan  mountain  fastnesses  ;  and 
still  the  friendly  Tlascalans,  stern  foes  but  noble 
allies,  loaded  them  with  every  favour  and  bid  them 
tarry.  When,  however,  they  would  stay  no  longer 
they  raised  a  great  body  of  warriors  to  accompany 
them,  warning  Cortes  against  the  wiles  of  Mon- 
tezuma .  '  Beware  of  his  presents  and  his  promises  ; 
he  is  false  and  seeks  your  destruction,'  they  urged, 
and  their  implacable  hatred  of  the  Aztecs  showed 
itself  in  their  words  and  mien. 


MONTEZUMA  111 

"  Contrary  to  the  advice  of  their  new  allies,  the 
Spaniards  decided  to  journey  on  to  Mexico  through 
Cholula,  the  land  of  the  great  pyramid .  Embassies 
had  arrived,  both  from  Montezuma  and  from  the 
Cholulans,  the  latter  inviting  the  Spaniards  to  go 
that  way  ;  and  the  great  Aztec  monarch,  swayed 
now  by  the  shadow  of  oncoming  destiny,  offering 
the  Spaniards  a  welcome  to  his  capital .  *  Trust  not 
the  Tlascalans,  those  barbarous  foes/  was  the 
burden  of  his  message,  '  but  come  through  friendly 
Cholula  :  a  greeting1  received  by  the  Tlascalans 
with  sneers  and  counter -advice .  The  purpose  of  the 
Tlascalans  was  not  a  disinterested  one.  An  attack 
upon  Montezuma  was  their  desire,  and  pre- 
liminary to  this  they  hoped  to  embroil  the  Spaniards 
with  the  perfidious  Cholulans.  Another  embassy — 
and  this  was  an  important  event — had  waited  upon 
Cortes.  It  was  from  the  Ixtlilxochitl,  one  of  the 
rival  claimants  for  the  throne  of  Texcoco,  which, 
it  will  be  remembered,  was  a  powerful  and 
advanced  community  in  confederation  with  the 
Aztecs ;  and  Cortes  was  not  slow  to  fan  the  flame 
of  disaffection  which  this  indicated,  by  an  encourag- 
ing message  to  the  young  prince. 

"  A  farewell  was  taken  of  the  staunch  Tlascalans, 
the  invariable  Mass  was  celebrated  by  Father 
Olmedo,  and,  accompanied  by  a  large  body  of 
Tlascalan  warriors,  the  Spaniards  set  out  for 
Cholula.  What  befel  in  this  beautiful  and  populous 
place — which,  Bernal  Diaz  wrote,  reminded  him1, 
form  its  numerous  towers,  of  Valladolid— was  of 
terrible  and  ruthless  import.  Cholula,  with  its 


112      ANCIENT  AND   MODERN  MEXICO 

great  teocalli,  was  the  Mecca  of  Anahuac,  and  was 
veritably  a  land  flowing  with  milk  and  honey. 
iWell-built  houses,  numerous  teocallis,  or  pyramidal 
temples,  well-dressed  people  with  embroidered 
cloaks,  and  numbers  of  censer-swinging  priests 
formed  the  ensemble  which  greeted  the  Spaniards' 
eyes,  whilst  the  intense  cultivation  of  the  ground 
and  the  fields  of  maguey,  maiz,  and  other  products, 
irrigated  by  canals  from  the  mountain  streams, 
formed  the  environment  of  this  advanced  com- 
munity. '  Not  a  palm's -breadth  of  land  that  is  not 
cultivated,'  wrote  Cortes  in  his  dispatches  to 
Castile,  '  and  the  city,  as  we  approached,  was  more 
beautiful  than  the  cities  of  Spain.'  Beautiful  and 
gay  doubtless  Cholula  was  when  the  Spaniards 
entered  ;  drenched  with  the  blood  of  its  inhabitants 
and  devastated  by  fire  it  lay  before  they  left  it ! 
There  had  been  signs  of  treachery,  even  on  the 
road  thither,  work  of  the  Cholulans  ;  but,  lodged 
in  the  city,  the  Spaniards  discovered,  through  the 
agency  of  the  intelligent  Marina,  a  plot  to  anni- 
hilate them  later.  Taking  the  Cholulans  unawares 
as  they  crowded  the  streets  with — at  the  moment — 
harmless  curiosity,  the  Spaniards,  with  cannon, 
musket  and  sabre,  mowed  down  the  unfortunate 
and  unprotected  natives  in  one  bloody,  massacre, 
aided  by  the  ferocious  Tlascalans,  who  fell  upon  the 
Cholulans  from  the  rear.  The  appalling  and  un- 
necessary slaughter  at  Cholula  has  called  down 
upon  the  heads  of  Cortes  and  the  Spaniards  the 
execration  of  historians.  Some  have  endeavoured 
to  excuse  or  palliate  it,  but  it  remains  as  one  of 


POPOCATEPTL  113 

the  indelible  stains  of  the  Spanish  Conquistador es 
upon  the  history  they  were  making.  Having 
accomplished  this  '  punitive  '  act,  an  image  of  the 
Virgin  was  set  up  on  the  summit  of  the  great 
pyramidal  temple,  and  some  order  restored.  '  They 
are  now  your  Highness's  faithful  vassals,'  wrote 
Cortes  to  the  King  of  Spain  I 

"  After  this  the  way  seemed  clear.  Far  on  the 
horizon  loomed  the  white,  snow-capped  cones  of 
Popocateptl  and  Ixtaccihuatl,  beautiful  and  pure 
above  the  deserts,  the  canyons,  and  the  forests 
beneath  them — the  gateway  to  Mexico.  From  the 
foremost,  above  its  snow-cap,  there  belched  forth  a 
great  column  of  smoke,  for  at  that  period  Popo- 
cateptl was  an  active  volcano.  Onwards  the 
Spaniards  pressed  with  buoyant  hearts  and  eager 
feet,  and  when  they  stood  upon  the  summit  of  the 
range  their  eyes  beheld  the  beautiful  valley  of 
Mexico,  the  haven  for  which  they  had  long  toiled 
and  fought,  stretched  below.  There,  shimmering 
in  distance,  lay  the  strange,  unknown  city  of  the 
Aztecs,  like  a  gem  upon  the  borders  of  its  lakes  : 
its  towers  and  buildings  gleaming  white  in  the 
brilliant  sun  of  the  tropic  upland  beneath  the  azure 
firmament  and  brought  to  deceptive  nearness  by 
the  clear  atmosphere  of  that  high  environment. 
There  at  last  was  their  longed-for  goal,  the 
mysterious  Tenochtitlan."1 

The  city  of  Mexico,  notwithstanding  its  modern 
attributes,  is  stamped  with  history  and  tradition, 

1  Mexico,  by  the  Author,  South  American  Series. 
VOL.  I.  8 


114     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

and  in  this  respect  is  perhaps  the  most  noteworthy 
metropolis  on  the  American  continents.  It  is,  as 
it  were,  a  mediaeval  city,  transplated  from  the 
Old  World  to  the  New.  The  United  States  has, 
naturally,  no  place  which  mayi  compare  with  it, 
and  in  happier  times  Mexico  City  has  been  a  tourist 
centre  for  Americans,  who,  escaping  from  the  more 
materialistic  and  commercial  atmosphere  of  their 
own  busy  towns,  and  the  extremes  of  heat  or  cold 
which  alternate  therein,  have  sought  the  equable 
and  healthful  condition  of  the  Mexican  upland 
capital — an  easy  journey  comparatively,  of  a  few 
days  in  a  Pullman  car,  amid  landscapes  attractive 
from  their  novelty. 

We  are  in  a  city  of  churches  and  convents. 
Elsewhere  I  have  described  some  of  these  remark- 
able edifices,  home  of  the  Roman  Catholic  faith, 
and  as  we  view  the  city  from  the  pleasing  hills 
surrounding  the  valley  their  domes  and  towers 
stand  up  refreshingly. 

The  houses  of  Mexico  are  of  a  type  unknown 
to  the  Anglo-Saxon  American  ;  the  social  customs, 
the  aspects  of  the  streets,  the  markets,  the  flower- 
market,  the  old,  massive  public  buildings,  the 
cotton-clad  Indian  folk  in  the  plazas  side  by  side 
with  beautifully  dressed  senoritas  and  correctly 
attired,  grave  and  ceremonious  men— statesmen, 
lawyers,  doctors  and  men  of  many  professions,  the 
serenatas  or  concerts  in  the  alamedas,  the  lottery 
ticket  vendors  thrusting  their  flimsy  wares  into 
one's  face,  urging  you  to  tempt  fortune—for  will 
not  the  wheel  be  turned  in  the  public  square  in 


SOCIAL  LIFE  115 

half  an  hour,  and  may  you  yourself  not  be  the 
winner  of  the  sorteo?— all  these  features  catch  the 
traveller's  eye  as  in  the  genial  sunshine,  before 
the  midday  heat  renders  the  shade  of  the  patio  or 
veranda  advisable,  we  observe  the  life  of  the 
Mexican  city.  In  the  market-place,  at  an  early 
hour  or  in  the  evening,  the  odour  of  the  tortilla 
or  the  frijoles,  fried  in  the  open  for  ready  sale, 
will  greet  our  nostrils,  and  there  are  piquant  chiles 
— a  favourite  article  of  diet — and  many  luscious 
and  unknown  fruits  which  we  cannot  resist. 

Under  the  shade  trees  in  the  plaza  or  the 
alameda,  escorted  by  Indian  maid-servant,  or 
perhaps  entering  or  leaving  the  temples,  are  sweet  - 
faced  girls  of  the  upper  class,  pale  oval -faced 
se nor it as  with  dark  hair  and  expressive  eyes,  with 
the  mantilla  drawn  over  the  head,  bent  on  their 
early-morning  orisons  :  but  though  their  thoughts 
are  at  the  moment  doubtless  dwelling  upon  matters 
spiritual,  there  are  glances  from  expressive  eyes — 

Para  que  te  mir£,  mujer  divina  ? 
Para  que  contemp!6  tu  faz  hermosa  ? 

Sentiment  and  love,  indeed,  play  a  strong  part  in 
the  temperament  of  this  southern  race,  with  all 
its  reserve  and  seclusion. 

The  foreigner  in  Mexico  will  thus  find  a  varied 
local  colour  in  the  Mexican  capital  and  in  other 
cities  throughout  the  Republic,  such  as  could  long 
occupy  his  pen,  and  indeed  his  brush,  if  he  wield 
such.  To  come  into  actual  touch  with  the  people  in 
their  homes  is  more  difficult,  but  if  he  is  fortunate 


116      ANCIENT  AND   MODERN  MEXICO 

enough  to  be  the  guest  in  an  upper  class  Mexican 
family,  he  will  experience  the  most  pleasing  hospi- 
tality. To  penetrate  such  circles,  however,  there 
must  be  the  appropriate  qualities  and  circum- 
stances . 

In  this  peaceful  city  there  are  few  signs  of 
revolution,  disorder  or  bloodshed.  The  walls  here 
and  there  may  be  pitted  with  bullet -marks,  but 
the  things  which  caused  them  come  and  go,  and 
the  populace  lives  its  life  with  merely  passing  notice 
of  them. 

We  may  wander  somewhat  farther  afield  in  the 
valley  :  to  the  suburbs  where  the  palaces  of  the 
wealthy  lie  embowered  in  flowers  and  orange- 
trees  ;  to  Xochimilco,  the  Field  of  Flowers ;  to 
Chapulepec— the  Aztec  "  Hill  of  the  Grass- 
hoppers," where  stands  the  presidential  castle  ;  to 
the  shrine  of  Guadalupe,  the  Lourdes  of  Mexico, 
where  the  Virgin,  it  is  said,  appeared  in  a  vision 
to  Juan,  the  poor  Indian. 

The  great  lake  of  Texcoco,  a  dreary  body  of 
water  now — it  is  partly  drained  by  a  great  canal, 
to  the  far  greater  salubrity  of  the  place— formerly 
extended  to  the  city,  which,  indeed,  at  the  time  of 
the  Conquest,  was  built  upon  it  and  reached  by 
stone  causeways — a  position  which  might  have 
been  impregnable. 

The  first  attempt  by  Cortes  and  the  Spaniards 
upon  Tenochtitlan  ended  in  disaster.  They  were 
enjoying  the  Aztec  hospitality,  which,  however, 
they  outraged.  They  attacked  and  massacred  a 
number  of  the  people  and  took  Montezuma 


THE  NOCHE  TRISTE  117 

a  prisoner  in  the  stout  palace  which  had  been 
assigned  as  their  quarters.  They  stormed  and 
carried  the  great  Teocalli,  or  pyramid -temple,  and 
threw  down  the  great  idol  of  the  Mexicans. 
Montezuma  was  killed,  either  by  a  missile  from 
without  or  treacherously  by  the  Spaniards  whilst 
in  their  power.  All  seemed  lost  as  a  result  of  the 
mad  act  of  Alvarado  in  attacking  the  people.  The 
story  of  the  disaster  is  a  thrillin'g  one . 

'  The  bridges  broken,  the  savages  screaming 
outside  the  walls,  hope  of  victory  gone,  there  was 
now  no  counsel  of  war  for  the  Spaniards  save 
that  of  escape.  But  how?  At  night  and  along 
the  great  causeway  was  the  only  plan.  A  weird 
scene  it  was  on  the  beginning  of  that  Noche  Triste 
—the  sorrowful  night — which  stands  forth  so 
unforgettably  in  the  history  of  the  Conquest. 
Disorder  everywhere ;  piles  of  gold  and  valuables 
on  the  floor,  each  Spaniard,  whether  cavalier  or 
boor,  loading  himself  with  what  he  -thought  he 
could  carry.  '  Pocket  what  you  can,'  Cortes  said, 
'  but  recollect  that  gold  is  heavy  and  we  have  to 
travel  swiftly  '—grave  advice,  the  neglect  of  which 
cost  some  their  lives  upon  that  awful  night. 

"  And  then  began  the  retreat  along  the  fatal 
causeway.  It  was  known  that  there  were  three 
openings  in  this,  and  a  portable  bridge  had  been 
made  and  was  borne  along  to  enable  passage  to 
be  effected.  Hurrying  on  in  the  hope  of  passing 
the  breaches  before  alarm  might  be  given,  the 
Spaniards  entered  upon  the  causeway  and  placed 


118      ANCIENT  AND  MOD£RN  MEXICO 

their  portable  bridge  upon  the  first  breach.  Was 
safety  to  be  theirs  ?  No  !  what  was  that  appalling 
sound,  sonorous  and  melancholy,  which  rang  over 
the  city  and  the  waters  amid  the  darkness?  It 
was  the  great  drum  on  the  teocalli ;  the  tambor 
of  the  war-god,  sounded  by  vigilant  priests,  calling 
the  people  to  vengeance  and  battle.  And  in  their 
myriads  the  Aztecs  poured  forth  and  fell  upon 
the  Christians,  raining  darts  and  stones  upon  them, 
and  making  the  night  hideous  with  their  war-cries. 
Meanwhile  Cortes  and  the  advance  guard  had 
passed  over,  and  reached  the  second  breach. 
'  Bring  up  the  bridge  ! '  was  the  repeated  order, 
as  those  behind  crowded  on.  Useless  ;  the  bridge 
was  stuck  fast  in  the  first  breach,  wedged  down 
by  the  weight  of  guns  and  horses  which  had  passed 
over  it,  and  as  these  dread  tidings  were  heard  the 
mass  of  men  upon  the  narrow  causeway  lost  their 
presence  of  mind.  Those  behind  crowded  on  those 
in  front ;  men  and  horses  rolled  into  the  lake  ; 
Spaniards  and  Tlascalans  fell  victims  to  the  Aztecs, 
who  crowded  the  water  in  their  canoes  and  leapt 
upon  the  causeway ;  the  shouts  of  vengeance  and 
triumph  of  the  savages  resounded  all  along  the 
dyke,  silencing  the  muttered  oath  or  prayer  of 
the  Christians  huddled  at  the  breach.  Down  went 
horse  and  man,  artillery  and  treasure,  until  the 
bodies  of  Christians  and  Indians  and  horses,  and 
bales  of  merchandise  and'  chests  of  ammunition 
the  breach  was  almost  filled,  and  a  portion  of  the 
fugitives  passed  over.  And  now  the  third  breach 
yawns  before  them— deep  and  wide.  The  morning 


ALVARADO  119 

is  dawning  upon  the  fatal  scene  ;  the  salt  waters 
of  the  lake  have  closed  over  many  a  gallant 
Christian  head  ;  the  frightful  causeway  is  strewn 
with  wreck  of  man  and  merchandise.  'The  rear 
guard  perishes  !  '  and  '  back  and  save  them  !  '  were 
the  words  which  rang  out  then,  and  Cortes  and 
his  remaining  cavaliers,  who  were  in  the  lead,  rode 
back,  even  in  that  frightful  hour— be  it  recorded 
to  their  honour — and,  swimming  the  breach  once 
more,  strove  to  support  their  comrades.  There 
stood  Alvarado  unhorsed  and  battling,  with  the 
savages  pressing  upon  his  rear.  Escape  there 
seemed  none.  Canoes  and  spears  teemed  on  every 
side,  and  Cortes  and  his  companions  were  forced' 
onward."  ' 

The  figure  of  Alvarado  stood  up!  against  the 
grey  sky  alone— a  moment — and  then  he 
measured  the  breach  with  his  eye.  Planting  his 
lance  on  the  wreckage  in  the  waters  of  the  breach, 
after  the  manner  of  a  'leaping-pole,  the  heroic 
Spaniard,  collecting  his  energies,  leapt  forward, 
and  passed  the  chasm  at  a  bound.  The  Aztecs 
paused  in  admiration  of  this  feat  of  the  "  Son 
of  the  Sun,"  as  they  had  named  Alvarado,  from 
his  fair  hair  and  ruddy  countenance.  To-day  we 
may  still  see  the  place  where  this  part  of  the,  cause- 
way lay,  known  as  the  Puente  de  Alvarado. 

Away  off  the  causeway  into  the  grey  dawn 
passed  the  remnant  of  the  routed  Spanish  Army, 
wounded,  bleeding,  starving,  their  comrades  gone, 

1  Mexico,  loc.  cit. 


120      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

some  to  death,  some  to  the  dreadful  sacrifices  of 
the  Mexican  priests,  where  their  hearts  would  be 
torn  living  from  their  breasts,  and  annihilation 
threatening  all.  Baggage  and  artillery  were  gone, 
not  a  carbine  was  left,  and  Cortes,  seating  himself 
upon  the  steps  of  a  ruined  temple  on  the  shore, 
wept  bitter  tears  of  sorrow  for  the  loss  of  his 
comrades  and  his  vanished  fortunes. 

So  ended  the  Noche  Triste,  and  to  this  day 
may  be  seen  an  ancient  tree  und'er  which  it  is 
said  Cortes  wept. 

The  Spaniards,  however,  were  not  of  such  stuff 
as  easily  gives  in  to  difficulty  and  disaster.  Had 
it  been  otherwise,  Mexico  to-day  might  have 
had  a  different  destiny.  It  might  have  developed 
a  purely  aboriginal  or  Indian  state.  But  fate 
seems  not  to  have  willed  it  that  any  such  nation 
should  exist  in  the  New  World. 

Cortes  and  the  remnant  of  his  army — there  was 
no  other  course  for  them— returned  to  their 
Tlascalan  allies,  fighting  their  way  even  here,  how- 
ever, for  •  after  passing  the  ancient  pyramid  of 
Teotihuacan,  even  then  standing  ruined  and 
desolate  a  few  miles  north  of  the  city— monument 
of  the  shadowy  Toltecs,  who  preceded  the  Aztec 
hegemony,  and  which,  restored  by  the  Mexican 
Government  under  President  Diaz,  is  an  object 
of  great  interest  to  the  traveller — they  looked  down 
on  the  .Plain  of  Otumba,  and  beheld  the  forces 
of  the  Otomies  drawn  up  in  battle  array  against 
them.  These  warriors  wore  armour  of  thick 
quilted  cotton,  which  formed  a  considerable  pro- 


SIEGE   OF  MEXICO  121 

tection  against  the  rude  weapons  of  the  country, 
and  the  Spaniards  were  now  without  firearms. 
They  were  so  numerous  that,  it  is  recorded,  the 
plain  "  looked  as  if  it  were  covered  with  snow," 
from  the  white  armour. 

But  the  Christians  routed  them,  and  thus  the 
Battle  of  Otumba  was  one  of  the  turning-points  in 
New  World  history,  as  elsewhere  remarked'. 

Reinforced  by  the  Tlascalans,  Cortes  returned 
to  the  siege  of  the  city.  Fresh  supplies  of  arms 
and  ammunition  had  reached  the  Spaniards  from 
the  coast,  with  horses  and  two  hundred  Spaniards 
sent  from  Hispaniola.  Cortes  built  a  number  of 
brigantines,  which  were  carried  by  the  Indians  to 
the  lake  in  order  to  attack  Tenochtitlan  by  water 
as  well  as  land.  But  the  whole  enterprise  would 
have  been  hopeless  had  not  the  other  Mexican 
tribes,  hating  the  Aztecs,  joined  forces  with  the 
white  men.  The  plan  was  to  starve  out  the  city 
on  the  lake  by  laying  waste  the  surroundings,  for 
it  was  dependent  upon  these  for  its  food.  To  the 
dead  Montezuma's  place  had  succeeded  his  nephew 
Guahtemoc,  a  noble  Aztec  prince,  animated  by  the 
utmost  spirit  of  patriotism  in  defending  the  heritage 
of  his  forefathers. 

"  A  series  of  severe  struggles  began  then,  both 
by  land  and  water — burning,  slaughter  and  the 
destruction  of  the  lake  towns.  The  Aztecs,  with 
their  great  number,  raining  darts  and  stones  upon 
the  invaders  at  every  engagement,  attacked  them 
with  unparalleled  ferocity  both  by  forces  on  shore 


122      ANCIENT  AND   MODERN  MEXICO 

and  their  canoes  on  the  lake.  The  Spaniards  took 
heavy  toll  of  the  enemy  at  every  turn,  assisted  by 
their  allies  the  Tlascalans,  as  savage  and  implacable 
as  the  Aztecs,  whom  they  attacked  with  a  singular 
and  persistent  spirit  of  hatred,  the  result  of  long 
years  of  oppression  by  the  dominant  power  of 
Anahuac.  Cortes,  on  every  occasion  when  it 
seemed  that  the  last  chance  of  success  might  attend 
it,  offered  terms  to  the  Aztec  capital,  by  no  means 
dishonourable,  assuring  them  their  liberty  and  self- 
government  in  return  for  allegiance  to  the  Crown 
of  Spain  and  the  renouncing  of  their  abominable 
system  of  sacrificial  religion .  These  advances  were 
invariably  met  by  the  most  implacable  negatives. 
The  Aztecs,  far  from  offering  to  yield,  swore  they 
would  sacrifice,  when  the  day,  was  theirs,  every 
Spaniard  and  Tlascalan  on  the  bloody  altars  of 
their  gods ;  and  as  for  entering  into  any  treaty, 
the  last  man,  woman  and  child  would  resist  the 
hated  invaders  until  the  last  drop  of  blood  was 
shed  and  the  last  stone  of  their  city  thrown  down. 
This  vaunt,  as  regards  the  latter  part,  was  almost 
literally  carried  out,  and  to  some  extent  as  regards 
the  former. 

"  The  siege  operations  were  conducted  vigor- 
ously both  by  land  and  water.  Again  before  the 
eyes  of  the  Spaniards  stretched  that  fatal  cause- 
way—path of  death  amid  the  salt  waters  of  Texcoco 
for  so  many  of  their  brave  comrades  upon  the 
Noche  Triste  of  their  terrible  flight  from  Teno- 
chtitlan.  And  there  loomed  once  more  that 
dreaded  teocalli,  whence  the  war -drum's  mournful 


SIEGE   OF  MEXICO  123 

notes  were  heard.  Guarded  now  by  the  capable 
and  persistent  Guatemoc,  the  city  refused  an  offer 
of  treaty,  and  invited  the  destruction  which  was 
to  fall  upon  it.  From  the  azoteas,  or  roofs  of 
their  buildings  and  temples,  the  undaunted 
Mexicans  beheld  the  white -winged  brigantines, 
armed  with  those  belching  engines  of  thunder  and 
death  whose  sting  they  well  knew  :  and  saw  the 
ruthless  hand  of  devastation  laying  waste  their  fair 
towns  of  the  lake  shore,  and  cutting  off  their  means 
of  life. 

"  But  the  Spaniards  had  yet  to  learn  to  their 
cost  the  lengths  of  Aztec  tenacity  and  ferocity.  It 
will  be  recollected  that  the  city  was  connected 
to  the  lake  shores  by  means  of  four  causeways, 
built  above  the  surface  of  the  water ;  engineering 
structures  of  stone  and  mortar  and  earth,  which 
had  from  the  first  aroused  the  admiration  of  the 
Spaniards.  These  causeways,  whilst  they  rendered 
the  city  almost  impregnable  from  attack,  were  a 
source  of  weakness  in  the  easy  cutting-off  of  food 
supplies,  which  they  afforded  to  the  enemy.  A 
simultaneous  assault  on  all  these  approaches  was 
organized  by  the  'Spaniards,  under  Sandoval, 
Alvarado  and  Cortes  himself,  respectively,  whilst 
the  brigantines,  with  their  raking  artillery,  were  to 
support  the  attack  by  water,  aided  by  the  canoes 
of  the  Tlascalan  and  Texcocan  allies.  A  series  of 
attacks  was  made  by  this  method,  and  at  last  the 
various  bodies  of  Spaniards  advanced  along  the 
causeways  and  gained  the  city  walls.  But  frightful 
disaster  befel  them.  The  comparative  ease  with 


124      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

which  they  entered  the  city  aroused  Cortes's  sus- 
picions ;    and  at  that  moment,  from  the  summit  of 
the  great   teocalli,   rang  out  a  if  earful   note— the 
horn  of  Guatemoc,   calling  for  vengeance  and  a 
concerted  attack.     The  notes  of  the  horn  struck 
some   ominous   sense   of   chill   in   the   Spaniards' 
breasts,  and  the  soldier -penman,  Bernal  Diaz,  who 
was  fighting  valiantly   there,   says  that  the  noise 
echoed    and    re-echoed,    and    rang    in    his    ears 
for   days    afterwards.      The    Spaniards,    on    this, 
as     on     other     occasions,     had     foolishly     neg- 
lected   to    secure    the    breaches    in    the    cause- 
ways   as    they    passed,    or    at    least    the    rash 
Alvarado  had  not  done  so  with  his  command,  his 
earlier  lesson  unheeded ;   and  when  the  Christians 
were   hurled   backwards — for   their   easy  entrance 
into  the  great  square  of  the  city  had  been  in  the 
nature  of  a  decoy — disaster  befel  them,  which  at 
one  moment  seemed  as  if  it  would  be  a  repetition 
of  that   of  the  Noche   Triste.     '  The  moment   I 
reached  that  fearful  bridge,'   Cortes  wrote  in  his 
dispatches,  '  I  saw  the  Spaniards  returning  in  full 
flight.'     Remaining  to  hold  the  breech  if  possible, 
and  cover  the  retreat,  the  chivalrous  Cortes  almost 
lost  his  life  from  a  furious  attack  by  the  barbarians 
in  their  canoes,  and  was  only  saved  by  the  devotion 
of  his  own  men  and  Indian  allies,  who  gave  their 
lives  in  his  rescue.     Word,  nevertheless,  had  gone 
forth  among  the  men  that  Cortes  had  fallen  ;    and 
the  savages,  throwing  before  the  faces  of  Alvarado 
and    Sandoval   the   bloody   heads   of   decapitated 
Spaniards,  cried  tauntingly  the  name  '  Malintzin,' 


SIEGE  OF  MEXICO  125 

which  was  that  by  which  Cortes  was  known  among 
the  Mexicans.  Men  and  horses  rolled  into  the 
lake ;  dead  bodies  filled  the  breaches ;  the 
Christians-  and  their  allies  were  beaten  back,  and 
*  as  we  were  all  wounded  it  was  only  the  help 
of  God  which  saved  us  from  destruction/  wrote 
Bernal  Diaz.  Indeed,  both  Cortes  and  the 
Spaniards  only  escaped,  on  these  and 'other  occa- 
sions, from  the  Aztec's  desire  to  take  them  alive 
for  sacrifice. 

"  Once  more,  after  disastrous  retreats  and  heavy 
loss,  the  bleeding  and  discouraged  Spaniards  lay 
in  their  camp,  as  evening  fell.  Of  dead,  wounded 
and  captured,  the  Spaniards  missed  more  than  a 
hundred  and  twenty  of  their  comrades,  and  the 
Tlascalans  a  thousand,  whilst  valuable  artillery, 
guns  and  horses  were  lost.  But  listen  1  what 
is  that  mournful,  penetrating  sound  which  smites 
the  Christians'  ears?  It  is  the  war -god's  drum, 
and  even  from  where  the  Spaniards  stand  there 
is  visible  a  procession  ascending  the  steps  of  the 
teocalli,  and,  to  their  horror,  the  forms  of  their 
lost  comrades  are  seen  within  it :  whose  hearts 
are  doomed  to  be  torn  out  living  from  their  breasts 
to  smoke  before  the  shrine  of  Huitzilopochtli,  the 
war-devil  of  their  enemies.  From  that  high  and 
fearful  place  their  comrades'  eyes  must  be  gazing 
with  despairing  look  towards  the  impotent  Spanish 
camp,  glazing  soon  in  death  as  the  obsidian  knives 
of  the  priests  performed  their  fiendish  work.  The 
disastrous  situation  of  the  Spaniards  was  made 
worse  by  the  desertion,  at  this  juncture,  of  the 


126      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Tlascalan  and  other  allies.  Awed  by  a  prophecy 
sent  out  confidently  by  the  Aztec  priests,  that  both 
Christians  and  allies  should  be  delivered  into  their 
hands  before  eight  days  had  passed  (prophecy 
or  doom,  which  the  priests  said,  was  from  the 
mouth  of  the  war-god,  appeased  by  the  late 
victory),  the  superstitious  Indians  of  Cortes's 
forces  sneaked  off  in  the  night. 

"  Continued  reverses,  in  the  face  of  long-con- 
tinued action  and  desire  for  the  attaining  a  given 
end,  forges  in  the  finer  calibre  of  mind  a  spirit 
of  unremitting  purpose.  Blow  after  blow,  which 
would  turn  away  the  ordinary  individual  from  his 
endeavour,  serves  to  steel  the  real  hero  to  a  dis- 
passionate and  persistent  patience,  and  the  purpose 
from  its  very  intensity  becomes  almost  a  sacred 
cause,  and  seems  to  obtain  from  the  unseen  powers 
of  circumstance  success  at  last.  So  with  Cortes 
and  others  of  the  Spaniards.  The  period  pre- 
scribed by  the  somewhat  rash  prophecy  of  the 
Aztec  priests  and  their  infernal  oracle  having 
passed  without  anything,  remarkable  having  taken 
place,  the  Tlascalan  and  Texcocan  allies,  upbraided 
and  warned  by  the  Spaniards'  messengers,  now 
sneaked  back  to  resume  the  attack  against  the 
city.  The  Aztecs  had  sought  to  cause  disaffection 
in  outlying  places  by  sending  round  the  bloody 
heads  of  decapitated  Spaniards  and  horses,  but 
with  little  effect.  Cortes  then  prepared  for  a 
final  effort . .  The  plan  adopted  was  to  be 
slower  but  surer  than  the  former  one  of  simple 
slaughter.  It  was  determined  to  raze  the  city  to 


THE  CONQUEST  127 

the  ground  ;  to  destroy  the  buildings  step  by  step, 
fill  up  the  canals,  and  so  lay  waste  the  whole  area 
from  the  outside,  so  that  unobstructed  advance 
might  be  maintained. 

"  The  execution  of  this  plan  was  begun.  The 
city  ends  of  the  causeways  were  captured  and 
held  ;  street  after  street  was  demolished,  and  canal 
after  canal  filled  up  amid  scenes  of  incessant  fight- 
ing and  slaughter.  Day  after  day  the  Spaniards 
returned  to  their  work ;,  day  after  day  with 
admirable  tenacity  the  inhabitants  of  Tenochtitlan 
disputed  the  ground  inch  by  inch,  watered  with 
the  blood  of  themselves,  their  women  and  their 
children.  Their  supplies  cut  off,  famine  and 
pestilence  wrought  more  terrible  havoc  among 
them— crowded  as  they  gradually  became  into  one 
quarter  of  the  city — than  the  arms  of  the  Spaniards 
and  the  Tlascalans.  At  the  termination  of  each 
day's  work  the  Spanish  prepared  an  ambuscade 
for  the  enemy,  drawing  them  on  by  seeming  to 
retire,  and  massacring  them  with  the  artillery  and 
gun-fire  and  lances,  to  say  nothing  of  the  weapons 
of  their  savage  allies.  On  one  of  these  occasions 
'  the  enemy  rushed  out  yelling  as  if  they  had 
gained  the  greatest  victory  in  the  world,'  Cortes 
wrote  in  his  dispatches,  and  '  more  than  five 
hundred,  all  of  the  bravest  and  principal  men,  were 
killed  in  this  ambush.'  He  added,  and  it  was  a 
common  occurrence,  '  our  allies  '—the  Indians — 
1  supped  well  that  night,  cutting  up  and  eating 
their  captives  !  '  During  the  days  of  this  terrible 
siege  the  famous  catapult  was  made,  an  extra- 


128      ANCIENTJAND  MODERN  MEXICO 

ordinary  engine  to  discharge  great  stones  upon 
the  enemy.  This  was  to  enable  the  Spaniards  to 
husband  their  powder,  which  was  getting  low,  and 
the  Aztecs  'watched  the  construction  of  this 
machine  with  certain  fear.  It  was  completed  and 
set  to  work,  but  the  builder,  a  Spanish  soldier  of 
inventive  faculty,  nearly  played  the  part  of  the 
engineer  hoist  with  his  own  petard,  for  the  great 
stone  fired  rose,  it  is  true,  but  went  straight 
up  and  descended  again  upon  the  machine, 
which  was  ever  afterwards  the  laughing-stock  of 
the  army.  ; 

"  Further  severe  losses  were  now  inflicted  upon 
the  beleaguered  inhabitants,  as  more  ammunition 
had  been  obtained.  Peace  had  again  been  offered 
by  the  Spaniards,  and  again  refused  by  the  Aztecs. 
An  Aztec  chief  of  high  rank  had  been  captured, 
and  then  returned  to  Guatemoc  as  a  peace  envoy. 
The  Mexicans'  reply  was  to  execute  and  sacrifice 
the  unfortunate  emissary,  and  then  collecting  their 
forces  they  poured  out  upon  the  causeways  like  a 
furious  tide,  which  seemed  as  if  it  would  sweep 
all  before  it.  But  the  Spaniards  were  prepared. 
The  narrow  causeways  were  commanded  by  the 
artillery,  which  poured  such  a  deadly  hail  upon 
the  enemy's  numbers  that  they  returned  fleeing 
to  the  city. 

"  And  soon  the  end  approaches.  The  division 
led  by  Cortes  made  a  fierce  assault ;  and  whilst 
the  battle  raged  the  Spaniards  observed  that  the 
summit  of  one  of  the  teocallis  was  in  flames.  It 
was  the  work  of  Alvarado's  men,  who  had  pene- 


THE  CONQUEST  129 

trated  already  to  the  plaza.  Forces  were  joined, 
and  the  inhabitants  of  the  city,  driven  into  one 
quarter  thereof,  still  made  their  stubborn  and— 
now— suicidal  stand.  For  the  streets  were  piled 
up  with  corpses,  the  Aztecs  refraining  from 
throwing  the  bodies  of  their  slain  into  the  lake, 
or  outside  the  city,  in  order  not  to  show  their  weak- 
ness. Pestilence  and  famine  had  made  terrible 
inroads  upon  the  population.  Miserable  wretches, 
men,  women  and  children,  were  encountered 
wandering  about  careless  of  the  enemy,  only  bent 
upon  rinding  some  roots,  bark  or  offal  which  might 
appease  the  hunger  at  their  vitals.  The  salt  waters 
of  the  lake,  which  they  had  been  obliged  to  drink, 
for  the  Spaniards  had  cut  the  aqueduct  which' 
brought  the  fresh  water  from1  Chapultepec,  had 
caused  many  to  sicken  and  die.  Mothers  had 
devoured  their  dead  children ;  the  bodies  of  the 
slain  had  been  eaten,  and  the  bark  gnawed  from 
the  trunks  of  trees.  In  their  dire  extremity  some 
of  the  chiefs  of  the  beleaguered  city  called  Cortes 
to  the  barricade.  He  went,  trusting  that  capitula- 
tion was  at  hand,  for,  as  both  he  and  his  historians 
record,  the  slaughter  was  far  from1  their  choosing. 
'  Do  but  finish  your  work  quickly,1  was  the  burden 
of  their  parley.  '  Let  us  go  and  rest  in  the  heaven 
of  our  war -god ;  we  are  weary  of  life  and  suffer- 
ing. How  is  it  that  you,  a  son  of  the  Sun,  tarry 
so  long  in  finishing,  when  the  Sun  himself  makes 
circuit  of  the  earth  in  a  day,  and  so  accomplishes 
his  work  speedily  ?  * 

"  This  remarkable  appeal  struck  renewed  pity 

VOL.  I.  9 


130     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

to  the  heart  of  Cortes,  and  once  more  he  begged 
them  to  surrender  and  avoid  further  suffering,  and 
the  Spaniards  drew  off  their  forces  for  a  space. 
But  the  inexorable  Guatemoc,  although  he  sent 
an  embassy  to  say  he  would  hold  parley,  and  the 
Spaniards  waited  for  him,  did  not  fulfil  the  promise 
at  the  last  moment.  Incensed  at  this  behaviour, 
the  Spaniards  and  the  Tlascalans  renewed  the 
attack  with  overpowering  energy  on  the  one  part 
and  barbaric  savagery  on  the  other .  Contrary  to 
the  orders  of  the  Spaniards,  their  savage  allies 
gave  no  quarter,  but  murdered  men,  women  and 
children  in  fiendish  exultation.  The  stench  of  the 
dead  in  the  beleaguered  city  was  overpowering ; 
the  soil  was  soaked  with  blood ;  the  gutters  ran 
as  in  a  rain-storm,  say  the  chroniclers,  and,  wrote 
Cortes  to  the  King  of  Spain  :  '  Such  slaughter 
was  done  that  day  on  land  and  water  that  killed 
and  prisoners  numbered  forty  thousand  ;  and  such 
were  the  shrieks  and  weeping  of  women  and 
children  that  there  were  none  of  us  whose  hearts 
did  not  break.'  He  adds  that  it  was  impossible 
to  contain  the  savage  killing  and  torturing  by  their 
allies  the  Tlascalans,  who  practised  such  cruelty 
as  had  never  been  seen>  and  '  out  of  all  order 
of  nature.' 

"  At  nightfall  the  attacking  forces  drew  off, 
leaving  the  remainder  of  the  inhabitants  of  the 
stricken  city  to  consider  their  position .  It  is  stated 
that  the  Tlascalans  made  a  great  banquet  of  the 
flesh  of  the  fallen  Aztecs,  and  that  on  this  and 
other  occasions  they  fished  up  the  bloated  bodies 


THE  CONQUEST  131 

of  their  enemies  from  the  lake  and  devoured  thent ! 
At  sunrise  on  the  following  day  Cortes  and  a  few 
followers  entered  the  city,  hoping  to  have  a 
supplication  for  terms  from  Guatemoc.  The  army 
was  stationed  outside  the  walls,  ready,  in  the  event 
of  a  refusal— the  signal  of  which  should  be  a 
musket-shot— to  pour  in  and  strike  the  final  blow. 
A  parley  was  entered  into  as  before,  which  lasted 
several  hours.  'Do  you  surrender?'  Cortes  de- 
manded. The  final  reply  of  Guatemoc  was,  *  I 
will  not  come :  I  prefer  to  die  where  I  am  :  do 
your  worst.' 

"  A  musket -shot  rang  out  upon  the  air ;  the 
Spaniards  and  their  allies  fell  on  to  merciless 
slaughter  :  cannons,  muskets,  arrows,  slings,  lances 
—all  told  their  tale  upon  the  huddled  mass  of 
panic-stricken  people,  who,  after  presenting  a 
feeble  and  momentary  front,  poured  forth  upon 
the  fatal  causeways  to  escape.  Drowned  and 
suffocated  in  the  waters  of  the  lake,  mowed  down 
by  the  fire  from  the  brigantines,  and  butchered 
by  the  brutal  Tlascalans,  women,  children  and 
men  struggled  and  shrieked  among  that  frightful 
carnage ;  upon  which  it  were  almost  impious  to 
dwell  further.  Guatemoc,  with  his  wife  and 
children,  strove  to  escape,  and  the  canoe  contain- 
ing them  was  already  out  upon  the  lake,  when  a 
brigantine  ran  it  down  and  captured1  him.  All 
resistance  was  at  an  en/d.  No  sign  of  life  or 
authority  remained  among  the  ruined  walls ;  the 
fair  city  by  the  lake  was  broken  and  tenantless, 
its  idols  fallen,  and  its  people  fled.  The  Homeric 


132      ANCIENT  AND   MODERN  MEXICO 

struggle  was  over ;    the  conquest  of  Mexico  was 
accomplished."  ' 

Under  the  long  rule  of  the  viceroys  that 
followed  the  Conquest,  Mexico  lived  her  life  in 
a  mediaeval  but  often  peaceful  and  not  unhappy 
state,  and  had  Spain  but  understood  her  and  de- 
veloped the  resources  of  the  land  and  protected 
her  simple  Indian  folk  instead  of  exploiting  them, 
and  at  the  same  time  antagonizing  the  colonists, 
there  is  no  reason  why  a  magnificent  and  per- 
manent Spanish  empire  should  not  have  grown  to 
being. 

We  have  remarked  elsewhere  on  the  abundant 
mineral  wealth  of  the  country.  The  great  silver 
deposits  of  Guanajuato  were  discovered  as  a  result 
of  a  camp-fire  made  on  the  rocks  by  some  mule- 
teers, who  found  refined  silver  among  the  ashes, 
which  the  heat  had  smelted  from  them.  The  great 
"  mother  lode  "  here  yielded  up  enormous  wealth. 
The  pleasing  city  of  Zacatecas  to-day  grew  from 
another  discovery  of  silver  ores,  which  produced 
a  value,  up  to  the  middle  of  last  century,  of  nearly 
eight  hundred  million  dollars.  The  curious 
archives  of  these  mines,  which  still  exist,  show  how 
carefully  the  Spaniards  worked  them.  The 
Pachuca  mines,  which  to-day  are  still  worked, 
yielded  similar  wealth,  and  it  was  here  that  the 
well-known  patio  or  amalgamation  process  was 
discovered,  with  quicksilver  from  Peru. 

There  are  other  centres,  scarcely  less  important, 

1  Mexico,  loc.  cit. 


MINING   IN  MEXICO  133 

well  known  to  the  mineralogist.  The  mineral- 
bearing  zone  of  Mexico  is  sixteen  hundred  miles 
long,  and  yields  nearly  all  the  metals  known  to 
commerce.  Coal,  however,  is  not  a  frequent 
product.  The  country  has  been  described  as  a 
paradise  for  the  prospector.  The  mines  are  in- 
numerable :  almost  every  hill  is  pierced  or  per- 
forated by  shafts  and  galleries,  ancient  or  modern  ; 
some  are  enormous  tunnels,  or  socavones. 

The  Mexican  native  miner  is,  in  his  way,  expert 
and  active,  and  with  rude  appliances  performs 
marvels  in  the  work  of  ore  extraction.  Halt  a 
moment  by  yonder  pit  in  the  rocky  slope.  Look 
down  :  a  notched  pole  descends,  upon  which  you 
would  hesitate  to  venture,  giving  access  to  the 
workings  beneath.  Yet,  in  a  moment,  perhaps, 
a  peon,  bearing  on  his  back  an  enormous  load  of 
rock  in  a  hide  or  sack,  will  ascend  from  the  bowels 
of  the  earth,  panting  and  groaning1 — we  shall  hear 
the  noise  of  his  breathing  before  we  see  him. 
He  will  cast  his  load  at  our  feet,  and  from  it  will 
roll  the  gleaming  quartz  and  pyrites,  with  perhaps 
the  red  of  the  roslcler,  or  rich  oxide  ore  of  silver, 
or  the  yellow  ochres  of  the  decomposed  gold- 
bearing  sulphides,  more  readily  prepared  by  Nature 
for  treatment  and  winning  of  the  yellow  metal. 
Or  he  may  bear  it  to  the  stream-bed,  there  to 
treat  it  in  some  primitive  stone  mill. 

Otherwise'  we  may  visit  huge  modern  mills 
where  hundreds  of  stamps  are  clanging  and 
engines  are  winding  and  furnaces  are  burning,  for 
a  host,  of  these  exist  throughout  the  land,  though 


184      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

disorder  and  revolution  may  have  suspended 
their  operations. 

Many  curious  products  of  the  vegetable  world 
attract  our  eyes.  Behold  yonder  stupendous 
cactus -trees—the  organo  cactus,  whose  symmetrical 
spiny  branches  like  a  giant  candelabrum,  weigh- 
ing perhaps  tons,  with  their  mass  of  sappy  foliage, 
arise  from  a  single  stem,  which  could  be  brought 
down  by  a  stroke  of  a  machete,  or  wood- 
knife— that  formidable  implement  or  weapon 
(made  perhaps  in  Birmingham)  which  the 
Mexican  peon  loves  to  wield  or  use.  Look  at 
the  marvellous  giant  leaves  of  the  juicy  maguey, 
or  agave,  as  long1  as  a  man,  and  see  the  peon  insert 
his  siphon  to  the  heart  of  the  plant  to  draw  forth 
its  sap,  which  he  blows  into  the  goatskin  on  his 
back,  and  from  which  he  will  presently  make  his 
pulque.  This  plant,  the  great  American  aloe, 
comes  into  flower  and  dies  in  a  few  years.  It 
exhausts  itself  in  flowering.  In  England  we  call 
it  the  century  plant,  for  the  exotic  lingers  long  in 
the  unfavourable  climate,  and  with  difficulty  puts 
forth  its  blossoms  at  all.  There,  too,  are  hedges 
and  circas  of  prickly-pear,  or  nopal,  which  yield 
the  delicious  wild  fig—the  cactus  familiar  to  the 
traveller  in  the  Holy  Land  and  Syria,  whence  it 
was  taken  from  Mexico. 

In  the  coastal  lands,  as  before  remarked,  the 
feathery  coconut -palm  waves  over  the  villages, 
and  the  elegant  leaves  of  the  banana  form  refresh- 
ing groves,  and  the  cacao  yields  its  stores  of  choco- 
late. Lovers  of  this  sweetmeat  might  hear  the 


RUBBER  AND  CHOCOLATE         135 

name  of  Mexico  in  gratitude  indeed,  for  is  not 
the  very  name  and  product  of  Aztec  origin — the 
chocolatl  of  the  early  folk  here?  In  the  tropic 
forests  and  plantations  the  beautiful  rubber,  the 
Castilloa  elastica-tiee,  rears  its  stately  foliage,  and 
here,  again,  are  we  not  indebted  to  Mexico? 
Remember  it,  ye  lovers  of  lawn  tennis.  For  when 
the  early  Spaniards  arrived  they  found  the 
Mexicans  playing  tennis,  with  balls  of  rubber,  in 
those  curious  courts  whose  ruins  still  remain  in 
the  jungles  of  Yucatan. 

Again,  yonder  flies  the  wild  turkey.  Was  he 
not  the  progenitor  of  that  noble  bird  which  comes 
upon  our  Christmas  tables?  Here,  too,  is  the 
zenzontl,  or  mocking-bird,  and  a  host  of  gorgeous 
winged  creatures  besides. 

Through  many  a  desert  range  and  over  many 
a  chain  of  hills,  violet  in  the  distance,  alluring  and 
remote ;  past  many  a  sacred  well  or  hill  marked 
by,  a  cross,  hard  by  the  paths  worn  by  the  genera- 
tions of  bare  or  sandalled  feet  we  may  pass ; 
and  here,  perchance,  by  some  spring  stands  a 
startled  native  maid,  her  oUa,  or  great  water -pitcher, 
on  her  shoulder— stands  in  classic  but  unwitting 
pose.  Or  through  the  heat  a  mounted  vaquero 
rides  upon  his  attenuated  mule  or  horse — for  the 
equine  race  works  hard  and  eats  little  here,  but 
bit,  spur  and  the  bridle  are  his  till  the  day  he 
leaves  his  bones  upon  the  trail — and,  "  Buenos 
dias,  sefior,"  with  doffed  hat  the  horseman  gives 
us  as  he  passes,  with  ever-ready  Mexican  courtesy 
to  the  foreigner  ;  or  he  did  so  until  of  recent  times, 


136     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

when,  for  reasons  we  need  not  here  dilate  upon, 
the  foreigner  has  come  to  be  regarded  with  any- 
thing but  friendship. 

There  was  always  a  charm  about  this  old  land 
of  Mexico ;  there  still  is,  despite  its  recent 
turbulent  history.  Small  wonder  that  foreigners 
in  increasing  numbers  loved  to  make  their  life 
in  its  quaint  towns,  to  take  up  land  and  industry 
within  it. 

Of  these  towns  we  cannot  speak  here ;  Guada- 
lajara, Puebla,  Oaxaca  and  many  another  invite  us 
to  their  pleasing  streets  and  ancient  buildings. 
From  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific,  from  north  to 
south,  they  are  dispersed  over  the  wide  area  of  the 
Republic . 

The  southern;  or  rather  easternmost  States  of 
Mexico  are,  as  regards  their  landscape  and  life, 
often  of  peculiar  interest,  mainly  by  reason  of  the 
more  tropical  surroundings  and  the  large  rivers, 
such  as  those  that  flow  into  thej  Gulf  of  Campeche, 
in  Vera  Cruz  and  Tabasco. 

Typical  of  these  rivers  are  the  Grijalva  and 
the  Usumacinta.  In  places  lined  by  dark  forests, 
the  banks  elsewhere  open  out  to  permit  of  planta- 
tions of  bananas,  tobacco,,  maize,  pineapples,  rubber 
and  so  forth,  and  an  occasional  village,  its  white 
walls  gleaming  among  the  foliage,  the  roofs 
thatched  with  palm,  gives  the  human  touch 
thereto. 

Ascending  the  river  in  a  slow  stern -wheel 
steamer,  we  remark  an  occasional  canoe,  laden 
with  skins  and  other  produce,  or  moored  inshore 


TROPICAL  MEXICO  137 

whilst  its  occupants  are  fishing  in  the  plentifully 
stocked  waters.  There  are  great  trees  festooned 
with  masses  of  moss  and  with  trailing  lianas,  where 
monkeys  play  by  day  and  from  whence  at  night 
their  howling  falls  on  the  ear.  The  white 
heron  and  aigret,  whose  snowy  plumage  is  so 
valuable  an  article  of  commerce,  startled  by  the 
passage  of  the  boat,  sail  gracefully  away  to  the 
bends  of  the  river,  and  flocks  of  parrots,  similarly 
disturbed,  scream  their  defiance,  whilst  wild  ducks 
and  cranes  and  birds  of  the  brightest  plumage 
are  in  sight  at  every  moment.  The  alligators, 
large  and  small,  that  throng1  the  shoals  project 
their  grotesque  forms  into  the  water,  offering  a 
mark  to  the  gun  of  the  idle  huntsman. 

In  the  flower  world  Nature  is  often  gorgeously 
arrayed  here.  Pure  white  lilies  lie  at  the  base 
of  flowering  trees  that  rise  in  a  mass  of  bloom 
for  forty  feet  or  more,  of  a  profusion  and  beauty 
almost  inconceivable.  The  queen  of  the  banks, 
the  stately  coco-palm,  carries  its  load  of  nuts, 
waiting  for  nothing  but  the  gatherer  of  a  harvest 
provided  by  Nature.  Here,  too,  is  the  cinchona- 
tree,  with;  its  bright,  smooth  red  trunk  and 
branches  and  rich  green  leaves,  offering  its  virtues 
of  quinine  bark.  The  arnica  plant,  with  its  daisy- 
like  yellow  flowers,  and  the  morning  glory  of  rich 
and  brilliant  hue  abound,  and  the  orchids—"  not 
the  dwarfed  product  of  a  northern  hothouse,  but 
huge,  entrancing,  of  the  richest  browns,  the 
tenderest  greens,  the  most  vivid  reds  and  the 
softest  yellow,  sometimes  as  many  as  half  a  dozen 


138      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

upon  one  tree  "—decorate  the  decayed  trunks 
of  the  trees.  There  are,  too,  natural  planta- 
tions of  wild  pineapples,  and'  many  fruits 
besides . 

A  good  deal  of  land  in  these  regions  is  capable 
of  cultivation,  and,  extremely  fertile,  yields  profit- 
able returns.  But  means  of  transport  are,  of 
course,  defective,  although  the  rivers  offer  long 
lines  of  communication.  The  Indians  do  not  love 
work,  except  inasmuch  as  such  may  fill  their  own 
small  requirements,  for  in  so  bountiful  a  region 
Nature  supplies  them  with  many  things  necessary 
for  life,  which  a  Very  few  hours'  labour  will  supple- 
ment for  a  whole  year.  There  is  rivalry  between 
the  established  planters  for  the  available  labour, 
and  peonage  is  largely  carried  out. 

In  Yucatan,  the  labour  system  upon  the  planta- 
tions of  the  Mexican  millionaire  hemp -growers  of 
the  peninsula  has  been  described  as  little  more 
than  slavery  by  some  writers.  But  great  wealth 
and  some  measure  of  progress  have  resulted  from 
this  special  Yucatan  industry,  and  Merida,  the 
capital  city,  shows  these,  elements  in  marked 
degree . 

The  Yucatan  peninsula  is  a  curious  limestone 
plain,  originally  covered,  and  still  covered  in  great 
part,  with  tropical  jungle,  riverless,  but  with  under- 
ground streams.  The  water  was  used  by  the 
ancient  builders  of  the  Maya  cities  here,  whose 
beautifully  sculptured  palaces  and  pyramid  temples 
are  among  the  chief  archaeological  wonders  of 
Spanish  America.  They  constructed  wells  adja- 


YUCATAN'S  BURIED  TEMPLES     139 

cent  to  the  buildings— the  curious  ce notes,  or 
sacred  wells. 

The  lore  of  these  silent,  buried  temples,  over- 
run by  the  jungle,  the  haunt  now  of  wild  creatures, 
is  fascinating  in  its  mystery.  Some  observers  have 
likened  the,  details  of  the  f agades  of  these  structures 
to  Hindu  temples,  others  to  Egyptian,  and  so  forth, 
whilst  others  stoutly  proclaim  them  to  be  of  purely 
autochthonous  culture.1  This  culture  area,  we  have 
already  seen,  extended  into  Guatemala. 

To  turn  for  a  moment  now  to  the  Pacific  coast 
of  Mexico,  this  presents  its  own  special  points 
of  interest.  From  hence  may  have  come  the 
Toltecs  originally,  with  their  wonderful  native 
knowledge  and  stone-shaping  arts,  among  famous 
objects  of  whose  handiwork  is  the  famous 
Calendar  Stone,  to  be  seen  in  the  Museum  of 
Mexico.  This  remarkable  stone  shows  the  early 
Mexicans  to  have  had  a  more  exact  division  and 
calculation  of  solar  time  than  their  contemporaries, 
the  cultured  nations  of  Europe.  However,  the 
principal  Toltec  remains  are  not  upon  the  Pacific 
coast,  but  at  Tula,  on  the  Plateau,  which  appears 
to  have  been  their  ancient  capital. 

Upon  the  long  Pacific  coastline  Mexico  pos- 
sesses several  important  seaports,  to  some  of  which 
access  may  be  gained  by  railway,  and  many 
picturesque  places  rarely,  heard  of  by  the  outside 
world,  together  with  vast  areas  of  fruitful  land 
and  valuable  forests.  This  littoral,  indeed,  forms 
a  region  which  must  some  day  take  its  place  in 
1  Vide  Mexico,  loc.  cit. 


140     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

the  economy  of  the  globe.  The  long  peninsula 
of  Lower  California,  forming  an  isolated  part  of 
Mexico,  is  in  many  respects  remarkable,  and  into 
the  head  of  the  Gulf  flows  the  Colorado  River, 
with  many  peculiar  characteristics. 

What  we  have  here  said  as  to  the  topography 
of  Mexico,  with  its  beautiful  mountains,  rivers, 
archaeological  remains,  cities  and  so  forth,  is  little 
more  than  an  index  to  a  vast  field  of  interest, 
which,  however,  must  be  studied  elsewhere.  We 
are  now  bidden  to  cast  a  further  glance  at  the 
people  who  have  their  being  upon  the  diversified 
surface  of  the  Republic. 

A  small  proportion  only  of  the  Mexicans  are 
white — perhaps  ten  per  cent.  The  remainder  are 
of  varying  shades  of  brown.  But  there  is  no 
"  colour  line,"  although,  naturally,  the  purest 
European  blood  is  found  among  the  upper  and 
governing  classes. 

However,  the  brown  race  has  produced  some 
of  the  best  of  Mexico's  people.  The  famous 
Juarez,  the  lawyer -president  who  preceded  Diaz, 
and  who  was  responsible  for  some  of  the  most 
important  measures  of  reform,  was  a  pure  Indian 
by  birth,  and  Diaz  himself  was  proud  of  his  partly 
aboriginal  ancestry.  In  fact,  it  cannot  be  said 
that  there  is  any  dividing  line  in  the  composition 
of  the  Mexicans.  The  bulk  of  the  people  are 
thus  of  mestizo  or  mixed  race,  but  there  are 
various  districts  where  only  pure  Indians 
are  found. 

The  working  population  df  the  country,  perhaps 


f 


VILLAGE   ON   THE    PACIFIC   SLOPE,    MEXICO. 


Vol.  I.     To  face  f. 


THE  PEONS  141 

three-quarters  of  the  total,  are  peones.  Peonage  is 
a  state  of  what  might  be  termed  debt-bondage. 
They  dwell  upon  the  great  landed  estates,  de- 
pendent for  their  livelihood  upon  the  owners  of 
these,  unable  to  leave  them>  and  are  paid'  their 
small  wage  largely  in  goods  under  a  species  of 
"  truck  system."  They  are  often  purposely  kept 
in  debt.  Their  economic  condition  is  a  low  one. 
They  own  nothing  of  the  land  upon  which  they 
dwell ;  they  carry  on  occupations  which  are  not 
profitable  to  i  themselves,  and  are  subjected  to 
many  abuses  in  this  respect ;  they  dwell  in  adobe, 
or  dried  mud  huts,  generally  of  the  poorest  kind  ; 
their  food  is  of  the  most  primitive,  and  often  scanty 
—meat  is  an  article  which  rarely  enters  into  their 
diet ;  if  a  cow  dies  on  the  plain  they  cut  it  up 
for  food— but  nevertheless  they  labour  hard  from 
sunrise  to  sunset  upon  a  diet  of  maize  and  beans. 
This  class  is  almost  wholly  illiterate,  although  there 
has  been  some  improvement  of  late  years  in  this 
respect. 

It  is  not  to  be  supposed  that  this  numerous 
class  is  an  unworthy  one.  On  the  contrary,  the 
Mexican  peon  is  industrious,  faithful,  courteous, 
and  deeply  religious — religion,  however,  greatly 
mixed  with  superstitions.  As  an  agriculturist  he 
does  not  lack  capabilities,  and  as  a  miner  the 
Mexican,  as  we  have  seen,  is  an  excellent  workman 
in  many  respects. 

In  brief,  the  working  class  of  Mexico  is  the 
most  important  and  homogeneous  body  of  brown 
labour  in  the  world.  The  European  or  American 


142      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

mine  or  plantation  manager  (who  was  until 
recently  plentifully  .established  in  the  country) 
may  often  express  very  diverse  views  in  this  con- 
nexion, but  from  a  more  detached  point  of  view 
the  above  characterization  is  true. 

As  for  the  working  class  Mexican  woman,  she 
has  many  good  qualities,  and  is  often  of  pleasing 
appearance,  whilst  among  some  of  the  Indian  tribes 
the  girls  are  handsome. 

The  upper  class  Mexican  is  generally  well 
educated,  often  having  been  sent  to  Europe  or 
the  United  States  for  his  education.  He  has  the 
pleasing  courtesy  of  the  Spanish  race,  and  is 
frequently  a  well-informed  man  of  the  world. 
However,  it  cannot  be  said  that  education  in  the 
United  States  in  necessarily  an  improvement. 
There  is  something  about  the  association  which 
is  not  pleasing.  He  becomes  too  *'  smart  "  and 
cynical . 

The  educated  Mexican  class  earnestly  lays 
claim  to  a  "  high  civilization,"  and  art,  science 
and  literature  are,  at  least  in  theory,  greatly 
esteemed.  There  may  be,  in  some  respects,  an 
element  of  superficiality  about  this  refinement,  and 
about  life  in  general,  with;  this  class.  But  to  a 
large  extent  ,it  has  its  foundation  in  reality,  and 
the  educated  Mexican  and  the  upper  class  man 
of  business  has  nothing  to  lose  in  point  of  culture 
in  comparison  with,  for  example,  the  American 
or  other  foreign  business  man.  Indeed,  it  is  the 
latter  that  would  often  suffer  by  comparison  in 
this  respect,  especially  the  American. 


REVOLUTIONARY  ELEMENT        143 

The  Mexican  is  much  less  dominated  by  the 
money-getting  spirit  than  is  the  man  of  the  United 
States,  and  has,  perhaps,  a  wider  vision,  both  in 
domestic  and  international  affairs.  The  upper 
class  Mexican  woman  is  justly  noted  for  her 
beauty  and  vivacity,  and  becomes  a  devoted  wife 
and  mother.  She  is  extremely  religious.  Indeed, 
the  influence  of  the  Church  and  the  priest  enter 
too  strongly  into  the  life!  of  the  female  popula- 
tion of  Mexico.  The  upper  class  man  has  often 
thrown  off  religion  and  is  acquiring  an  easy 
materialism . 

With  a  people  of  the  above  described  charac- 
teristics, it  might  well  be  asked  from  what  source 
does  the  revolutionary  element  and  bloodthirsty 
soldiery  come?  From  what  class  do  the  ambitious 
"  generals,"  the  would-be  presidents,  the  ruthless 
guerilla  bands  spring,  whose  doings  have  shocked 
the  civilized  world?  They  do  not  come  from  the 
ordinary  class  of  educated  Mexicans,  who  are 
peaceful  estate  owners,  lawyers,  business  men,  and 
so  forth,  who,  in  general,  would  be  very  loath 
to  risk  their  persons  or  property  in  the  hazards  of 
revolution.  As  to  the  young  man  of  this  class, 
he  generally  loves  the  ease  and  luxury  of  city  life 
too  much  to  adventure  himself  far  from  his  often 
effiminate  pleasures.  Nor  do  they  come  from  the 
great  peon  class,  which,  so  far,  has  asked  little 
more  than  to  pursue  its  normal  life,  varied  by 
the  not  infrequent  carousals  of  feast-days,  the 
pelea  de  gallos,  or  cock-fight,  and  the  corrida  de 
tor os,  or  bull -fight,  as  his  Sunday  diversions,  and 


144      ANCIENT  AND   MODERN  MEXICO 

to  drown  his  sorrows  in  draughts  of  intoxicating 
pulque  or  aguardiente. 

The  revolutionary  element  is,  in  fact,  drawn 
from  a  comparatively  small  class  of  ambitious  or 
disappointed  politicians  and  the  idle  or  dis- 
satisfied military  element,  in  the  main.  It  cannot 
of  course  be  denied  that  revolution  at  times  springs 
to  being  under  patriotic  or  national  motives,  to 
remedy  the  abuses  laid  on  the  country  by  dis- 
honest or  oppressive  rulers.  In  reality,  disorder 
is  generally  the  result  of  a  mixture  of  both  these 
elements.  A  revolutionary  standard  having  been 
raised,  and  a  pronunciamiento  made,  there  are 
rarely  lacking  followers.  The  latent  martial  spirit 
of  the  Mexican— a  heritage  from'  both  his  Aztec 
and  Spanish  forbears— breaks  out.  The  prospect 
of  place  and  office  attracts  the  educated  malcontent, 
of  booty  and  licence  the  lower  element,  and  of 
higher  pay  and  free  food  the  peon.  Political 
murders  and  ruthless  cruelty  attend  these  opera- 
tions, and  a  whole  nation  is  terrorized  and  its 
ordinary  affairs  brought  almost  to  a  standstill 
thereby.  Often,  however,  the  revolution  is  little 
more  than  a  local  affair,  and  is  put  down  or  dies 
out,  although  it  may  have  damaged  the  country's 
reputation  abroad  in  a  measure  far  exceeding  its 
real  importance. 

Is  there  any  remedy  for  this  perennial  turmoil, 
and  if  so,  what  is  the  remedy?  The  reply  is  that 
whilst  the  present  economic  conditions  of  Mexico 
exist,  stability  will  never  be  reached.  A  small 
upper  class  practically  monopolizes  the  wealth, 


SOCIOLOGY  145 

*»~- 

education,  land  and  opportunity  of  the  Republic 
—a  republic  in  little  more  than  name.  The  main 
bulk  of  the  people,  as  has  been  shown,  are  poor, 
landless  and  illiterate,  and  in  consequence  easily 
throw  off  their  settled  habits  at  the  bidding  of 
upstart  leaders.  They  have  little  to  lose  and 
perhaps— they  think — the  possibility  of  gain  by 
disorder. 

The  steadying  element  of  a  settled  middle  class 
grows  very  slowly  to  being  in  Mexico.  Industry 
is  in  its  infancy.  Little  is  manufactured  in  the 
country,  except  cotton  textiles,  and  even  here 
the  wage  of  the  operative  is  exceedingly  low.  Such 
manufacturing  industry  is  mainly  represented  by 
the  well -advanced  cotton  and  textile  factories  of 
Puebla  and  elsewhere,  works  of  much  importance, 
generally  actuated  by  water-power  plant.  This 
is  a  highly  profitable  industry  for  the  mill -owners, 
who  reap  dividends  often  of  thirty  per  cent. 
Manufacturing  industry  here,  as  in  the  other  Latin 
American  Republics,  is  accompanied  in  its  growth 
by  the  rise  of  the  strike  habit,  which  is  rapidly 
increasing.  Jealousy  of  the  foreign  concession- 
aire—who flourished  so  markedly  under  the  Diaz 
regimen— is  a  further  element  in  disorder.  The 
advancement  of  the  masses  has  been  extremely 
slow.  A  new  spirit  is  needful  if  progress  is  to  be 
made,  a  recognition  of  the  rights  of  the  Mexican 
"  democracy,"  a  better  co-ordination  of  the 
national  resources  and  a  constructive  and  equitable 
economic  policy,  added  to  disinterested  political 
leadership. 

VOL.   I.  10 


146     ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Mexico  in  reality  offers  conditions  for  pros- 
perous and  enlightened  life.  Its  natural  resources 
are  varied,  abundant  and  well  distributed.  The 
country  does  not,  like  some  other  Latin  American 
States,  draw  revenue  from  any  great  or  special 
article  of  export  (sooner  or  later  the  economic 
defect  of  a  land),  but  can  be  more  or  less 
self-contained  and  self -supplying.  Innumerable 
pleasing  towns  and  picturesque  villages  are 
scattered  over  its  surface,  which  normally  are 
centres  of  peaceful  life,  and  the  population  is 
well  distributed. '  There  is  much  of  beauty  in 
the  architecture  of  these  towns,  and  of  refinement 
and  dignity  among  the  people— elements  largely 
a  heritage  of  Spanish  rule,  added  to  the  native 
disposition.  i 

The  nation  is  not  yet  over-commercialized  or 
vulgarized,  and  if  political  and  economic  stability 
can  grow  to  'being  without  becoming  so,  Mexico 
might  build  up  for  itself  a  pleasing  and  durable 
civilization,  and  become  a  permanent  leader  among 
the  republics  of  the  New  World. 

The  traveller  who  has  sojourned  in  this  pic- 
turesque and  romantic  land,  who  has  experienced 
its  pleasing  hospitality  and  has  understood  the 
character  of  its  people,  cannot  but  hope  that  such 
future  awaits  it.  In  the  coming  settlement  of  the 
world  Mexico  has  a  good  deal  to  offer,  but  trading 
must  be  accompanied  in  the  future  by  statesman- 
ship, here  as  elsewhere.  Mexico,  indeed,  is  a  sub- 
ject for  a  science  of  constructive  economic 
biology. 


ITURBIDE  AND  MAXIMILIAN      147 

The  history  of  Mexico  after  Independence  shows 
how  resolutely  the  Mexicans  threw  off  the  method 
of  governance  by  Royalty,  but  it  is  a  question 
whether  there  might  not  have  been  a  more  sus- 
tained and  orderly  development  under  that 
system. 

At  this  time,  Mexico  wias  the  third  largest 
empire  in  the  world,  and  included  a  large  part 
of  what  is  now  the  Western  United  States,  such 
as  California  and  Texas  and  the  adjoining  terri- 
tories, as  well  as  Guatemala.  She  began  her  inde- 
pendent history  with  an  emperor — Iturbide,  who 
patriotically  wished  to  strive  against  the  "  Holy 
Alliance  "  which  schemed  to  bring  about  the  re- 
domination  of  Spain,  but  he  was  executed  by 
Mexicans,  and  fell,  serene,  and  disdainful  of  his 
ungrateful  compatriots. 

The  ill-fated  figure  of  Maximilian  stands  out 
in  picturesque  silhouette  in  Mexican  history,  well- 
meaning  but  weak ;  as  does  the  pathetic  story  of 
the  Empress  Carlota,  and  her  appeal  to  Napoleon 
against  his  perhaps  perfidious  withdrawal  of 
French  troops  from  Mexico.  Maximilian  was 
"executed"  at  Queretaro.  Two  faithful  Mexican 
officers  shared  his  fate — Miramon  and  Mejia. 
'  Take  you  the  place  of  honour  in  the  centre," 
said  the  ill-fated  Hapsburg  prince  in  turn  to  each 
of  them,  as  facing  the  file  of  soldiers  they  awaited 
the  volley.  But  each  declined,  the  carbines  rang 
out,  and  so  passed  the  dream  of  empire  in  Mexico. 
An  Austrian  warship  arrived  to  take  his  body ; 
the  commander  asking  for  the  remains  of  "  the 


148      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

Emperor  of  Mexico."  But  he  was  informed  that 
"  no  such  person  had  existed,"  although  the  body 
of  "  Maximilian  of  Austria  "  was  delivered  to  him. 
In  the  Museum  of  Mexico  to-day,  all  that  remains 
is  his  gilded  coach  and  some  other  trappings. 

The  dream  of  empire  in  Mexico  was  largely 
due  to  the  Napoleon  of  the  times,  and  was  mainly 
frustrated  by  the  action  of  the  United  States  and 
the  Monroe  Doctrine.  Imperial  government  was, 
however,  supported  by  a  very  large  party  of  upper 
class  Mexicans. 

The  Mexicans,  rightly  or  wrongly,  have  retained 
to  this  day  a  certain  animosity  against  the  United 
States  by  reason  of  the  loss  of  their  huge  northern 
territory  of  Texas,  in  what  they  called  la  guerra 
injusta,  the  "  unjust  war,"  in  which  they  declared 
that  American  machinations  were  displayed  in 
order  to  deprive  them  of  the  land.  One  phase  of 
this  history  was  in  the  filling  up  of  Texas,  in  part, 
by  American  filibusters,  and  in  the  upholding  of 
slavery  there  by  the  American  Government,  the 
Mexicans  having  made  a  decree  forbidding  slavery  ; 
and  this  must  be  recorded  to  the  credit  of  Mexico. 
Black  slavery  there  brought  a  dreadful  fruit,  and 
even  in  recent — and  present — times  race  riots,  in- 
cluding the  burning  alive  of  negroes,  have  been  a 
result .  v 

However,  this  is  past  history,  and  these  terri- 
tories developed  under  American  rule  in  a  way 
that  would  not  have  been  possible  under  the 
Mexicans .  To-day  we  hear  of  constant  antagonism 
across  the  border.  It  is  urged  by  some  that  the 


THE  AMERICANS  AND  MEXICO      149 

United  States  might  enter  and  control  Mexico, 
but  it  is  to  be  hoped  that  Washington  is  wiser 
than  to  embark  upon  such  an  adventure.  It  might 
be  a  difficult  and  bloody  undertaking,  and,  even 
if  successful  militarily,  would  but  perpetuate  race- 
hatred in  the  New  World.  The  Mexicans,  a  people 
of  nearly  twenty  millions  strong,  must  work  out 
their  own  destiny.  The  history  of  Mexico  shows 
the  evils  of  forced  and  unnatural  episodes 
and  conditions,  and  this  would  but  add  to  the 
series . 

Many  a  battle  has  been  fought  between 
Americans  and  Mexicans  since  the  first  conflict 
in  1846,  and  both  nations  have  had  occasion  to 
test  each  other's  bravery  and  capacity  in  war. 
The  Mexicans  excel  in  guerilla  warfare,  and  are 
splendid  horsemen,  but  the  more  solid  tactics  of 
the  Americans  generally  prevailed.  Mexico  was 
invaded  more  than  once  by  United  States  forces, 
and,  indeed,  occupied.  The  storming  of  Chapul- 
tepec  Castle,  near  the  city  of  Mexico,  was  one 
of  the  heroic  engagements,  when  a  young  Mexican, 
rather  than  see  his  country's  flag  fall  into  the  hands 
of  the — to  them — "  hated  Yanquis,"  wrapped  it 
round  his  body  and  leapt  from  the  turret,  to  be 
dashed  to  pieces  on  the  stones  below. 

All  students  of  American  matters  will  look  for 
that  time  when  these  two  countries  will  dwell  in 
amicable  relationship,  such  as  seemed,  in  the  time 
of  Diaz,  to  have  been  reached,  but  in  which,  in 
reality,  jealousy  and  rancour  were  but  thinly  veiled . 
There  is  really  nothing  fundamental  between  the 


150      ANCIENT  AND  MODERN  MEXICO 

two  people  against  amicable  relations  and  co- 
operation in  those  matters  of  mutual  interest  on 
their  continent. 

Thus  we  leave  this  interesting  land  of  Mexico, 
to  make  our  way  into  another  region,  no  less 
attractive,  in  its  own  particular  field. 


CHAPTER    V 
ALONG    THE    PACIFIC    COAST 

IN  COLOMBIA,  ECUADOR  AND  PERU 

AN  enormous  horizon  opens  to  the  traveller  who 
essays  the  voyage  along  the  Pacific  coast  of  South 
America,  from  Panama  perhaps  to  the  extremity 
of  the  continent ;  a  voyage  through  every  range  of 
climate,  from  the  Equator  to  the  frigid  south,  past 
verdant  tropic  shores  or  barren  desert,  or  beneath 
eternal  snowfields ;  a  voyage  redolent  of  the  early 
heroic  history  of  the  New  World,  with,  to-day,  a 
setting  of  the  picturesque  modern  life  of  the  old 
viceregal,  one-time  colonies  of  Spain. 

We  shall  touch  at  innumerable  seaports,  the  out- 
let of  five  different  countries ;  those  of  Colombia 
and  Ecuador,  of  Peru,  Bolivia  and  Chile.  From 
Panama  to  Cape  Horn  this  vast  trajectory  of  some 
five  thousand  miles  may  be  roughly  divided  into 
six  parts  of  eight  hundred  miles  each ;  that  is, 
Panama  to  Guayaquil,  thence  to  Callao,  thence 
to  Iquique,  thence  to  Valparaiso,  with  the  re- 
mainder along  the  southern  coast  of  Chile :  a 
voyage  equal  approximately  to  one  from  Liverpool 
to  New  York  and  back  again. 

101 


152       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Due  to  the  comparative  tranquillity  of  the  ocean, 
the  voyage  is  made  in  steamers  of  coasting  type, 
in  which  the  state-rooms  are  all  upon  the  deck,  and 
open  directly  therefrom,  a  pleasing  arrangement  in 
comparison  with  the  stuffy  hold  of  trans-Atlantic 
or  trans-Pacific  vessels. 

Behold,  then,  a  sterile  coastline,  beaten  by 
never-ending  surf,  broken  by  rocky  promontories, 
bird -covered  perhaps,  and  seal -haunted,  whence 
the  distant  roar  of  breaking  rollers  at  times  comes 
seaward,  and,  inland,  a  rising,  undulating  zone  of 
desert  and  canon,  brown  or  tawny  or  purple  in 
its  shadows,  stretching  away  mysteriously  for  per- 
haps a  hundred  miles  to  where  it  meets  the  solemn 
Cordillera,  which,  grey,  faint  and  serrated,  with 
no  form  save  that  of  outline — the  true  test  of  dis- 
tance— forms  our  horizon  on  the  east. 

Above  is  a  deep  blue  sky,  but  inclining  to  greens 
and  opals,  for,  in  the  west,  with  banners  of  gold 
and  crimson  vapours— the  colours  of  Spain,  whose 
mariners  first  beheld  it  here,  the  sun  is  setting,  its 
disc  already  upon  the  bosom  of  the  Pacific.  The 
sun -god  of  the  Incas  goes  down,  and  rose-tinted 
rays  shoot  across  the  stark  and  rugged  littoral  and 
touch  the  edges  of  the  green,  refreshing  seas,  rising 
between  the  steamer  and  the  distant  surf.  It  is 
the  coast  of  Peru,  and  in  this  romantic  hour  of 
sunset  yonder  deserts  might  be  peopled  with  the 
spectral  forms  of  mail-clad  Spaniards,  the  gaunt 
Pizarro  at  their  head,  heedless  of  all  save  empire 
and  El  Dorado. 

But  not  a  sail  or  hull  disputes   possession  of 


PIZARRO  AND  THE  CONQUEST    153 

the  fast -darkening  sea,  with  the  quivering  steamer 
upon  whose  deck  we  stand,  cleaving  its  way  a 
thousand  miles  from  Panama ;  and  if  ghosts 
there  be,  why  not  one  of  a  caravel  of  Drake, 
hot  on  the  Plate  ships'  track  from  Callao?  Nor 
on  the  seaboard  does  a  single  habitation  denote 
the  presence  of  man,  for  we  are  passing  one  of 
those  stretches  of  desert  of  which  this  coast  is 
largely  composed. 

But  let  us  look  more  closely,  and  imagine  we 
behold  for  a  moment  the  forms  of  the  intrepid 
white  men  who  first  broke  in  upon  this  desolation. 

It  is  the  early  part  of  the  sixteenth  century. 
Upon  the  seashore  there  is  a  band  of  mail-clad 
Spaniards,  at  their  head  a  tall  bearded  man,  spare 
of  frame,  but  full  of  spirit,  that  spirit  which  dares 
the  unknown  and  dares  again,  in  spite  of  famine 
and  privation.  It  is  Pizarro,  the  famous  con- 
quistador, and  in  his  hand  is  a  drawn  sword. 
There  has  been  disaffection  in  the  band,  wrought 
of  sufferings  and  disappointment  in  that  desolate 
region.  "  Where  is  the  gold  we  have  been 
promised?"  the  malcontents  exclaim.  "What 
profit  is  there  in  fighting  famine  and  miserable 
savages?  Let  us  go  back  to  Panama  before  we 
all  perish  ! " 

For  reply  Pizarro  drew  the  point  of  his  sword 
across  the  sand.  "Comrades,"  he  said,  "on  the 
south  of  this  line  lie  perhaps  hardship  and  death ; 
on  the  north  salvation  and  ease.  Yet  perhaps  on 
the  south  is  Peru  and  untold  wealth  ;  on  the  north 
Panama  and  poverty.  Choose  you  which  you  will. 


154       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

I  go  south.     Who  follows?"     And  thus  speaking, 
he  stepped  across  the  line. 

Twelve  faithful  spirits  followed  this  action,  and, 
later,  the  thirteen  received  special  reward  from  the 
Spanish  Sovereign. 

Others  arrived  from  Panama,  and  the  voyage 
was  continued.  Among  the  band  was  a  valiant 
Greek  of  great  stature,  Pedro  de  Candia,  and  he, 
on  one  occasion,  contemplating  from"  the  ship,  a 
distant  fertile  valley,  went  ashore  alone  to  traverse 
it.  "  Resolved  I  am,"  he  said,  "  to  explore  yonder 
valley  or  die,"  and,  bearing  a  great  wooden  cross 
in  one  hand,  and  his  sword  and  carbine,  he  broke 
in  upon  the  astonished  Indians,  returning  unharmed 
with  tales  of  gardens  filled  with  artificial  flowers  of 
gold,  and  other  wonders.  This  was  at  Tumbez. 

But  the  conquest  of  Peru  was  not  thus  easily  to 
be  performed.  The  Spaniards'  resources  were 
limited,  and  they  returned  to  Panama.  But  a  few 
gold  and  silver  toys  and  some  Indian  sheep — the 
llamas — which  they  took  back,  did  not  greatly 
impress  the  unimaginative  Governor  of  that  colony, 
and  Pizarro  was  obliged  to  proceed  to  Spain,  where 
he  made  a  good  impression  at  Court.  His  further 
expedition  was,  however,  rendered  possible  mainly 
by  the  Queen — a  woman  again  furnishing  the  im- 
agination and  means  to  discover  the  New  World  I 
She  it  was  who  rewarded  Pizarro  and  his  twelve 
faithful  companions,  in  the  capitulation  she  caused 
to  be  drawn  up.1 

*  See  the  Author's  Ecuador,  in  the  South  American  Series  ; 
also  Ptru,  in  the  same. 


CLIMATE  AND  TOPOGRAPHY   155 

Pizarro  and  his  men  returned  to, brave  the  hard- 
ships of  the  coast  again,  but  we  must  leave  this 
interesting  history  and  turn  to  our  topography. 

The  conditions  of  aridity  on  this  coast,  upon 
which  rain  never  or  scarcely  ever  falls,  is  a  result 
of  the  interception  by  the  Andes  of  the  trade 
winds,  whose  moisture  is  deposited  on  the  summits, 
and  of  the  cool  Peruvian  or  Humboldt  current, 
flowing  northwards  up  the  coast,  its  lower  tempera- 
ture preventing  the  evaporation  of  the  sea  and 
discharge  of  the  moisture  as  rain.  . 

•We  shall  have  noted  this  peculiar  .  change  to 
aridity  soon  after  passing  the  Equator,  as  before 
remarked.  The  shores  of  the  Gulf  of  Guayaquil 
and  part  of  the  Ecuadorian  coast  are  vividly  green 
from  the  dense  mangrove  thickets  and  other  vege- 
tation, but  as  soon  as  the  mist  zone  of  the  Equator 
is  left  behind  the  coastal  zone  becomes  stark  and 
unfruitful,  beaten  by  tearing  surges  between  ,the 
few  havens. 

Upon  leaving  Panama  and  its  famous  Canal — 
whose  great  works  rapidly  fade  into  the  haze  of 
distant  shore  and  mountain,  reminding  us  how 
small  the  greatest  human  mark  on  the  face  of 
Nature  really  is— we  have  passed  the  Pacific  coast 
of  Colombia, which  does  not  present  any  very  note- 
worthy features.  It  is  shut  off  from  the  interior 
by  the  high  mountains,  and  is  often  unhealthy 
and  but  thinly  populated,  notwithstanding  that  it 
affords  certain  resources  and  potentialities  that  in 
the  future  should  be  valuable.  At  the  principal 
port  of  Buenaventura  it  is  unlikely  that  our  steamer 


156       ALONG   THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

will  call.  The  settled  and  prosperous  Colombia — 
the  old  viceregal  colony  of  New  Granada— lies  in 
the  highlands,  whose  means  of  access  are  from 
beyond  the  Isthmus  of  Panama,  upon  the  "  Spanish 
Main,"  as  we  shall  see  elsewhere.  However, 
Buenaventura  is  the  port  for  the  beautiful  Cauca 
Valley,  the  garden  vale  of  Colombia,  with  its  pleas- 
ing town  of  Cali,  and  a  line  of  railway  has  pain- 
fully made  its  way  up  this  steep  littoral  thereto. 
Buenaventura  was  reached  by  the  first  Spaniard 
to  sail  this  sea,  Andagoya,  who  named  it  the  Port 
of  Good  Fortune,  but  the  great  prize  of  discovery 
lay  in  Peru,  which  he  did  not  reach  :  the  prize 
which  fell  to  the  more  fortunate  and  adventurous 
Pizarro.  The  port  has  been  described  as  perhaps 
the  most  beautiful  on  the  Pacific  coast,  but  the 
traveller  who  desires  in  addition  material  comforts 
will  not  prolong  his  stay  thereat. 

Our  vessel,  pursuing  its  way,  will  shortly  have 
sighted  the  coast  of  Ecuador,  and  may,  if  con- 
ditions concerning  quarantine  be  favourable,  have 
to  enter  the  great  indentation  which  forms  the  Gulf 
of  Guayaquil. 

The  Guayas  River,  with  the  Island  of  Puna  at 
its  mouth,  is  of  considerable  w,idth,  but  narrows 
as  the  ocean  steamer  ascends  it  so  much  that 
passage  at  times  is  difficult.  Memories  of  Pizarro 
centre  about  the  island. 

The  seaport  of  Guayaquil  lies  over  thirty  miles 
upstream,  and  its  aspect  on  approaching  is  a  strik- 
ing one  ;  its  buildings  clustered  along  the  water- 
front, backed  by  verdure-clad  hills,  and  the  ship- 


GUAYAQUIL  157 

ping  in  the  harbour,  and,  at  night,  the  rows  of 
lights  of  the  streets,  give  an  impression  of  con- 
siderable importance  to  this  tropical  seaport.  The 
river  off  Guayaquil  has  been  likened  to  the  Missis- 
sippi at  New  Orleans.  In  early  times  the  town 
was  frequently  sacked  by  buccaneers — French, 
English  and  others,  among  them  the  ubiquitous 
Dampier.  Its  dreadful  reputation  for  malaria  and 
yellow -fever  has  caused  travellers  to  shun  the  place, 
but  these  matters  have  experienced  some  improve- 
ment of  recent  years,  especially  since  the  building 
of  the  Panama  Canal. 

As  the  steamer  lies  in  the  stream,  enterprising 
Indian  boatmen  bring  off  certain  native  wares  for 
sale  to  the  passengers,  among  them  the  famous 
"  Panama  "  hats — which  are,  be  it  noted,  not  a 
product  of  Panama,  but  of  the  coastal  district  north 
of  Guayaquil,  notably  Jipijapa  and  Monte  Cristi. 
They  are  also  made  in  Colombia.  Great  industry, 
patience  andi  knowledge  are  displayed  by  the 
Indians  in  making  these  hats,  of  which  the  material 
is  a  palm  fibre,  not  a  straw  or  grass.  They  are 
a  really  beautiful  and  dexterous  example  of  native 
industry. 

Upon  the  Manabi  coast,  in  the  same  region,  we 
may  see  some  remarkable  vestiges  of  the  ancient 
folk  of  Ecuador,  in  the  great  carved  stone  arm- 
chairs or  seats  ranged  upon  a  flat  hill-top.  These 
seats  are  unique  in  early  American  archaeology  and 
form  a  puzzle  to  the  antiquarian.1 

Six  hundred  miles  to  the  west,  far  out  of  our 

1  See  the  Author's  Ecuador,  loc.  cit. 


158       ALONG   THE  PACIFIC   COAST 

track  here,  lie  the  Galapagos  Islands,  a  possession 
of  Ecuador,  the  home  of  the  monstrous  turtles 
whose  name  the  archipelago  bears. 

The  Guayas  River  and  its  affluents  command  our 
attention  and  interest  by  reason  both  of  their 
beauty  and  economic  importance.  They  form  the 
only  considerable  fluvial  system  on  the  whole 
western  coast  of  South  America,  where,  in  general, 
the  streams  are  of  small  volume  and  unnavigable. 
Here  we  may  navigate  the  river  and  its  arms  for 
two  hundred  miles,  and  our  vessel  will  convey  us 
past  many  a  flourishing  hacienda  on  the  banks, 
where  the  famous  cacao  of  Ecuador  is  grown — the 
chocolate  of  commerce,  of  which  the  region  pro- 
duces, or  has  been  accustomed  to  produce,  a  third 
of  the  world's  supply.  This  fertility  is  due  to  the 
nature  of  the  alluvial  soil,  which, for  ages  has  col- 
lected in  what  are  locally  termed  buncos ;  areas  or 
deposits  specially  suitable  for  the  cultivation  of 
the  cocoa -trees.  Many  such  haciendas  flourish 
upon  these  rivers,  and  are  sources  of  much  wealth 
to  their  proprietors  and  to  the  nation.  The  alluvial 
mud  of  such  remarkable  fertilizing  properties  is 
carried  along  by  the  waters,  which  have  deposited 
it  in  these  favoured  spots  upon  the  network  of 
streams  which  fall  into  the  Guayas. 

Groups  of  feathery  coco-palms,  with  their  slender 
columns  and  graceful  foliage,  which  flourish  around 
the  haciendas,  form  a  pleasing  picture,  which  serves 
to  offset  the  somewhat  monotonous  appearance  of 
the  sabanas,  or  barer  stretches  of  flat  land  which 
we  overlook  from  the  steamer's  deck,  and  which 


THE   INCAS   OF  PERU  159 

alternate  with  the  cacaotales,  cafetales  and  cana- 
verales,  as  the  coco  and  coffee  plantations  and  the 
great  cane  brakes — of  monstrous  bamboos,  which 
are  a  valuable  article  of  construction — are  termed. 

We  remark  here  the  curious  native  rafts,  which 
without  other  agency  than  the  current  ascend  and 
descend  the  rivers  on  the  flowing  and  the  ebbing 
tide,  reaching  Guayaquil,  and  returning  thence 
upstream . 

Continuing  our  voyage  along  the  coast,  the  eye 
may  fall  upon  the  white  guano -covered  headlands, 
and  the  attention  is  suddenly  arrested  by  what 
appears  at  first  sight  to  be  a  low  dark  cloud 
moving  on  the  face  of  the  waters.  'It  approaches, 
and  we  see  that  it  is  not  a  cloud,  but  a  flight  of 
birds,  innumerable,  and  flying  in  close  formation — 
at  times,  indeed,  they  obscure  the  sky.  These  are 
the  guano-producing  birds,  which  haunt  the  rocky 
headlands  and  islets,  and  whose  product  has  been 
so  considerable  a  source  of  wealth  and  contention 
on  this  coast.  Guano  was  used  by  the  Incas  in 
their  intelligent  and  painstaking  agricultural  opera- 
tions, and  its  misuse  or  monopoly  was  prohibited. 

The  Incas,  vestiges  of  whose  remarkable 
structures  and  curious  customs  we  find  scattered 
in  profusion  throughout  the  enormous  territory — 
perhaps  two  thousand  miles  in  length — which 
formed  their  empire,  upon  whose  coast  we  are 
journeying  here,  made  little  use  of  the  sea,  except 
for  fishing.  By  relays  of  posts,  of  Indian  runners, 
fish  was  carried  in  fresh,  across  the  deserts  and 
over  the  Cordillera,  for  the  table  of  the  Inca  at 


160       ALONG   THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Cuzco,  which  town,  the  ancient  Mecca  and  capital 
of  the  early  Peruvians,  is  situated  in  a  valley 
1 1,500  feet  above  sea-level  and  over  two  hundred 
miles  inland — a  remarkable  performance. 

The  Incas  were  not  a  seafaring  people,  and  their 
civilization — for  it  fully  merits  the  name  of  such — 
was  indeed  cut  off  from  the  rest  of  the  world  both 
by  the  ocean  and  by  the  enormous  rugged  chains 
of  the  Andes,  and  by  the  impenetrable  forests  of 
the  Amazon  basin  on  the  east .  As  far  as  is  known, 
they  appear  not  to  have  had  knowledge  even  of 
the  contemporaneous  cultures  of  the  Mayas,  the 
Aztecs,  and  the  Toltecs  of  Mexico  and  Central 
America,  although  all  these  early  American  cul- 
tures may  have  had  a  common  origin,  in  times 
much  nearer  the  general  childhood  of  the  world. 

Was  this  coast  first  explored  and  even  settled 
by  the  Chinese  long  before  Columbus  sailed? 
There  are  reasons  for  thinking  this  may  have 
been  so. 

The  exploits  of  Pizarro  and  his  followers  took 
place  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Tumbez,  near  the 
westernmost  point  of  the  South  American  Con- 
tinent. How,  fighting  against  famine,  they  made 
their  way  along  this  stark  and  inhospitable  littoral 
and  ascended  the  Andes,  where  by  a  combination 
of  intrepidity  and  treachery  they  overcame  the 
reigning  Inca  chief  and  his  people,  forms  one  of 
the  most  fascinating  episodes  of  early  American 
history . 

To-day,  when  we  leave  our  comfortable  steamer 
and  follow  those  same  paths,  we  find  little  altera- 


161 

tion,  in  many  respects,  after  the  lapse  of  four 
centuries.  We  must  journey  in  the  saddle  over 
the  roughest  and  often  most  dangerous  of 
mountain  trails.  At  night  it  may  be  that  an  indif- 
ferent fonda,  or  inn,  in  the  poor  Indian  villages 
on  the  road  will  afford  some  hospitality,  but  this 
will  be  of  the  meanest  description.  Railways  are 
few  and  far  between  along  this  immense  and 
little -travelled  seaboard ;  food  is  scarce  and  life 
primitive . 

But  the  stamp  of  Spain  is  over  all,  and  there  is 
an  atmosphere — attenuated  it  may  be — of  the 
times  of  Don  Quijote  de  la  Mancha  in  its  social 
regimen.  We  cannot  withhold  a  tribute  to  Spain, 
in  remarking  how  she  stamped,  for  all  time,  her 
own  characteristic  culture  throughout  thousands  of 
miles,  east,  north  and  south,  of  tropic  seaboard 
and  rugged  Cordillera,  upon  this  great  continent. 

But  "  Spanish  gentlemen  should  not  soil  their 
hands  in  trade "  ran  a  decree  of  the  old  "  Laws 
of  the  Indies,"  and  the  Spaniards,  except  for  their 
exploitation  of  the  rich  gold,  silver  and  quick- 
silver mines  (at  a  terrible  toll  of  Indian  lives), 
did  not  reap  much  commercial  profit  from  their 
possessions.  This  great  mineral  wealth  was  poured 
for  centuries  into  the  needy  coffers  of  Spain — 
poured  as  into  a  sieve,  for  it  was  largely  squan- 
dered. Under  the  viceroys  the  mines  were 
worked  with  feverish  activity.  In  one  instance 
an  urgent  mandate  for  increased  production  so 
worked  upon  the  official  in  charge  of  one  of 
the  huge  mines,  those  of  Huancavelica,  in  yonder 

VOL.  I.  11 


162       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC   COAST 

mountains — a  veritable  labyrinth  of  underground 
galleries  and  chambers,  among  which  was  a 
chapel,  deep  below  the  surface,  with  candles  ever 
burning  before  its  shrines — that  he  ordered  the 
supporting  columns  of  ore  to  be  taken  out,  with 
a  result  that  the  mine  fell  in,  entombing  five 
hundred  miners,  whose  bones  remain  in  the  ruin 
to  this  day,  it  is  said.  t 

As  for  commerce,  the  British  are  the  great 
Phoenicians  on  this  coast ;  transporting  cargo 
hither  and  bearing  it  hence.  The  German  activity 
became  marked  before  the  war,  but  the  Kosmos 
line  of  steamers  stopped,  and  the  Teutonic  bags- 
man  ceased  his  assiduous  traverse  of  the  interior 
villages  with  his  wares. 

Mining  in  Peru  is  not  what  it  was  in  the  time 
of  Spain.  A  wealthy  company  of  United  States 
capitalists,  it  is  true,  ships  great  quantities  of 
copper  from  the  wonderful  deposits  of  Cerro  de 
Pasco,  15,000  feet  above  sea-level,  and  there  are 
many  smaller  concerns  of  varied  nationalities.  But 
thousands  of  irregular  subterranean  workings  all 
over  the  vast  Cordillera  remain  waterlogged  and 
abandoned— mines  where  the  visitor  is  told  of  fabu- 
lous wealth  extracted,  and  which  still  contain  untold 
riches,  awaiting  the  time  when  they  shall  be  called 
upon  to  surrender  their  hidden  stocks  of  gold  and 
silver,  of  copper  and  a  host  of  other  minerals. 
The  glories  of  Potosi  have  in  large  measure 
departed,  but  the  tin  mines  of  Bolivia  yield 
annually  a  large  proportion  of  the  world's  supply 
of  that  metal. 


NATURAL  PRODUCTS  163 

Enormous  coalfields — notwithstanding  that  South 
America  has  been  regarded  as  a  coal -less  con- 
tinent— exist  in  the  Andes,  their  upturned  strata 
outcropping  in  the  bleakest  regions,  in  some  cases 
amid  the  perpetual  snow. 

To-day  the  cultivators  of  sugar  and  cotton  in 
the  irrigated  valleys  of  this  vast  littoral  have  come 
into  their  kingdom,  reaping,  during  the  war, 
fortunes  from  the  shipment  of  these  commodities 
to  Britain ;  their  only  plaint  that  of  the  restriction 
of  carriage.  The  merchant  and  the  shopkeeper 
made  the  same  lament,  and  the  fashionable  and 
simpatica  dames  of  Latin  American  Society  be- 
wailed the  impossibility  of  their  enjoyment  of  the 
latest  Parisian  modes. 

Away  on  the  slopes  and  tablelands  of  the  grim 
Cordillera  the  ancient  palaces  and  temples  of  the 
bygone  Incas  look  down,  unknown,  unvisited,  save 
by  those  whom  interest  or  chance  may  take  that 
way .  Once  washed  by  the  waves  of  Lake  Titicaca 
— that  most  remarkable  of  lakes,  12,500  feet  above 
the  sea,  yet  whereon  we  may  journey  out  of  sight 
of  land — lie  the  ruins  of  that  strange  temple  of 
Tiahuanako,  of  unknown  age,  the  most  ancient 
handiwork  of  man  in  the  New  World. 

To-day,  all  that  remains  of  that  epoch  are  these 
old  stone  structures,  save  that  the  Indian,  as 
evening  falls,  preserving  some  sentiment  of  an 
ancient  state,  climbs  the  lonely  hills,  and  there, 
alone,  makes  mournful  music  with  his  flute  of 
reeds  :  notes  which  fall  weirdly  upon  the  ear  as 
we  pass  beneath,  across  the  wide  plateau. 


The  empire  of  the  Incas  lay  principally  in 
Peru,  Bolivia  and  Ecuador,  and  extended  to  the 
northern  part  of  Chile,  but  the  Incas  did  not 
overcome  the  Araucanian  Indians— fierce  and  in- 
tractable— who  dwelt  in  Chile.  Nor  did  they, 
apparently,  descend  very  much  beyond  the  eastern 
slopes  of  the  Andes,  into  the  forests  and  plains 
of  the  Amazon  and  of  the  Plate,  though  there 
are  some  vestiges  of  their  occupation  there.  They 
established  a  line  of  forts,  of  blocks  of  squared 
stone  along  the  ceja,  or  edge,  of  the  Montana, 
some  of  which  we  may  see  to-day,  doubtless  to 
ward  off  the  attacks  of  the  forest  savages. 

The  Incas  possessed  great  stores  of  gold,  which 
they  used  to  make  household  vessels  for  the  princes 
and  for  religious  purposes,  and  the  Spaniards 
possessed  themselves  of  this  gold.  Much  of  it 
was  sent  down  to  the  coast  for  shipment  to  Spain, 
to  fill  the  needy  coffers  of  the  Spanish  sovereigns. 
Some  of  it  fell  into  the  clutches  of  Drake  and 
other  enterprising  adventurers  into  these  realms  of 
gold,  who  disputed  the  Spanish  monopoly  of  the 
New  World. 

Let  us  imagine,  as  we  pace  the  deck  of  the 
steamer  and  look  over  towards  the  setting  sun, 
touching  the  bosom  of  the  broad  Pacific,  an  early 
scene  upon  these  waters.  Here  is  Drake's  ship, 
Golden  Hind  or  Pelican,  blowing  out  of  Callao 
with  every  stitch  of  canvas  set.  Drake  has  heard 
that  a  Plate  ship,  laden  with  gold  and  silver,  has 
just  set  sail  for  Panama,  and  iie  is  chagrined 
at  having  missed  it.  The  Spaniards  had  feared  no 


DRAKE  165 

danger.  As  far  as  they  had  known  there  were 
no  craft  in  these  waters  save  those  which  flew  the 
colours  of  Spain.  But  now  the  viceroy  of  Lima, 
Don  Francisco  de  Toledo,  is  uneasy.  The,  to 
him,  unspeakable  Drake—"  Caramba!  Draco,  a 
Dragon  " — is  about  1 

The  English  ship  overhauls  the  plate  ship. 
But  the  wind  drops  and  she  is  still  hull  down, 
many  a  mile  of  heaving  sea  between.  Shall 
they  lose  the  prize  ?  No ;  the  boats  are  put  out, 
and  for  three  days  the  men  of  Devon  towed  their 
vessel,  straining  at  their  oars  as  British  seamen  will, 
and  the  sluggish  Plate  ship  rises  more  upon  their 
horizon.  Away  they  toil,  past  the  river  of 
Guayaquil,  above  which  the  gleaming  Chimborazo 
rears  his  distant  head,  until,  six  hundred  miles  to 
spare  from  the  haven  of  Panama,  she  is  overtaken, 
off  Cape  San  Francisco,  in  what  is  now  Ecuador. 
They  board  the  ship  and  seize  the  treasure,  which, 
according  tp  the  Spanish  chroniclers,  amounted  to 
nearly  a  million  pounds  sterling1. 

The  viceroy  did  not  altogether  lose  hope  of 
recovering  this  treasure.  He  prepared  a  veritable 
hornets'  nest  for  Drake,  in  the  form  of  an  armada, 
which  was  ordered  to  wait  at  the  Strait  of 
Magellan,  which,  he  imagined,  Drake  must  pass 
in  order  to  get  home.  But  Drake  was  not  thus 
to  be  entrapped.  He  sailed  on  northwards— trying 
for  a  strait  eastward  through  America — reaching 
the  spot  known  now  as  Drake's  Bay,  in  California ; 
found,  of  course,  no  passage ;  careened  his  ship, 
cleaned  it,  and  turning  his  prow  westward,  sailed 


166       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

across  the  Pacific,  going  completely  round  the 
world  for  England,  where  he  was  worthily  knighted 
by  Queen  Elizabeth  on  the  quarter-deck  of  his 
wave -worn  ship. 

Guayaquil  is  the  gateway  to  ancient  Quito,  in 
the  Cordillera,  and  between  that  port  and  Callao 
is  Salaverry  with  the  quaint  and  busy  Peruvian 
town  of  Trujillo,  founded  by  Pizarro.  Callao, 
to-day,  is  the  principal  seaport  upon  this  vast  coast, 
between  Panama  and  Valparaiso.  The  Oroya  rail- 
way running  therefrom  takes  us  up  to  the  summit 
of  the  Andes,  nearly  16,000  feet  above  sea-level, 
first  passing  through  the  old  viceregal  capital,  and 
ascending  the  valley  of  the  Rimac,  whose  waters, 
the  whispering  oracle  of  the  Incas,  gave  their  name 
to  Lima. 

Lima,  the  old  Ciudad  de  los  Reyes,  or  "  city  of 
the  kings,"  as  Pizarro,  its  founder,  termed  it,  in 
honour  of  his  Spanish  sovereigns,  surrounded  by 
its  cultivated  lands,  irrigated  from  the  Rimac,  must 
be  regarded  as  one  of  the  premier  cities  of  the 
Spanish  American  world,  and  one  of  the  most 
quaint  and  pleasing,  with  many  historical  and 
literary  attributes,  a  legacy  of  the  old  vice- 
regal times.  A  handsome  cathedral  overlooks  the 
broad,  well-planted  plaza,  and  its  high  towers, 
rebuilt  after  the  disastrous  earthquake  of  1746, 
a  sketch  of  whose  terrors  I  have  given  later 
on,  dominate  the  green  campiha,  or  country- 
side. 

It  is  a  city  of  many  churches  and  other  eccle- 
siastical   buildings,    and    has    something    of    that 


LIMA  167 

mediaeval  atmosphere  we  have  remarked  in  the 
city  of  Mexico,  and  some  of  its  public  buildings 
are  worthy  of  note.  The  gloomy  structure  which 
held  the  Inquisition  faces  upon  a  small  plaza  in 
the  midst  of  which  arises  a  bronze  equestrian  figure 
of  Bolivar,  a  replica  of  that  at  Caracas.  We 
remark  the  carved  oak  balconies  to  certain  of  the 
ancient  houses,  former  residences  of  viceroys  and 
nobles . 

But  Lima  does  not  love  to  live  upon  its  past. 
Its  people  have  laid  out  a  magnificent  Paseo, 
or  promenade,  named  after  Columbus,  and  here 
a  gay  and  fashionable  throng  parades  upon  the 
Sabbath  day,  or  in  the  evenings,  listening  to  the 
music  of  the  band  amid  the  palms  and  flowers. 
Here  congregate  the  wealth  and  beauty  of  the 
city,  its  statesmen  and  leaders,  and  all  those  who 
customarily  throng  to  these  earthly  paradises  which 
the  Spanish  Americans  customarily  lay  out  as 
adjuncts  of  their  cities.  The  latest  modes  are 
seen,  the  fashions  of  Paris  and  London — also  the 
half -naked  Indian,  unlettered  and  unashamed. 

Lima  possesses  many  educational  and  scientific 
bodies  and  establishments,  and  has  a  well -deserved 
claim  to  being  a  centre  of  culture.  Its  Press  is 
one  of  the  best  in  South  America  :  its  people  have 
strong  poetical  leanings  and  administrative  genius. 
Among  the  more  recent  of  successful  presidents 
stand  forth  the  names  of  Pardo,  Pierola,  and 
Leguia.  The  last-named,  a  capable  administrator, 
lived  in  London  during  the  Great  War  and  went 
through  the  experience  of  air -bombardment, 


168       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

when  he  returned  to  Peru  to  take  up  his  second 
term  of  office. 

There  is  a  certain  isolation  about  Lima,  due 
to  its  geographical  position.  The  other  large 
towns  of  the  Republic  are  separated  from  it  by 
vast  stretches  of  desert  and  Cordillera,  and  the 
railways  give  access  to  but  a  few  points,  whilst 
any  interruption  of  the  steamer  lines  along  the 
coast  cuts  it  off  from  the  outside  world.  How- 
ever, its  picturesque  watering-places  and  well- 
built  residential  suburbs  extend  the  amenities  of 
Lima  over  a  wider  zone. 

The  upper-class  folk  of  Peru,  as  we  behold 
them  in  their  capital  and  other  large  towns,  have 
the  pleasing  traits  of  courtesy  and  hospitality  we 
are  accustomed  to  associate  with  their  race  in 
marked  degree.  They  are  extremely  eloquent, 
and  aim  at  a  high  standard  of  civilization — that 
sensitive  characteristic  of  the  Spanish  American. 
Their  women  have  justly  earned  a  world-wide 
reputation  for  their  beauty  and  vivacity,  their 
good  breeding  and  culture,  as  well  as  their  piety 
and  high  standard  of  family  life.  If  the  hand  of 
semi -mediaeval  custom  still  hampers  Peru  in  its 
social  customs,  this  is  a  matter  which  time 
constantly  modifies. 

All  parts  of  Spain  furnished  the  ancestors  of 
the  Peruvians— Basque,  Catalonian,  Andalusian, 
Galician,  and  Castillian  names  being  encountered 
among  them,  and  in  viceregal  days  there  were 
many  titles  of  nobility,  which  fell  into  disuse  on 
the  advent  of  the  Republic.  Nevertheless,  it  is 


PERU  AND  ITS  PEOPLE  169 

an  amiable  weakness  of  the  Peruvians — as  it  is 
of  many  other  Latin  American  folk — to  love  titles, 
as  we  see  by  the  so  frequent  use  of  the  doctorate 
degree.  In  a  Peruvian  Cabinet,  it  would  be  rare 
to  discover  a  minister  who  is  not  addressed  as 
"  Doctor  " — of  laws  or  science — for  the  degree  is 
often  taken  in  Latin  America  largely  as  conferring 
some  social  distinction,  and  not  necessarily  with  the 
purpose  of  practising  this  or  that  profession.  .Yet 
in  justice  to  the  Peruvians  it  must  be  said  that 
they  are  clever  professional  men,  whether  at  law, 
medicine  or  other,  whilst  practical  science  has  its 
outlet  also  in  the  engineering  profession,  a  consider- 
able number  of  whose  exponents  make  a  study  of 
the  country's  agricultural  and  mineral  potentialities. 

A  pleasing  feature  of  the  Peruvians  is  their 
cordial  welcome  of  foreigners,  their  desire  to 
assimilate  the  things  of  the  outside  world,  and 
strong  notions  of  progress.  It  is  not,  however, 
to  be  supposed  that  their  houses  are  readily  open 
to  the  foreign  visitor.  Like  all  Latin  Americans 
they  are  exclusive ;  and  the  traveller  must  be  a 
caballero,  a  person  of  refinement,  if  he  is  to  enter 
their  family  circle. 

The  main  defect  of  the  country  and  its  govern- 
ing classes  is  the  neglect  of  the  vast  Indian 
and  lower-class  population,  for  this  upper  and 
enlightened  class  is  but  a  small  proportion  of  the 
population.  The  oligarchical  tendencies  which  we 
find  so  strongly  marked  in  Chile,  in  Mexico,  and, 
indeed,  in  every  Latin  American  State,  are  strong 
in  Peru.  These  countries  can 'never  truly  pro- 


170       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

gress  until  they  take  their  domestic  responsibilities 
more  seriously,  thereby  improving  the  economic 
and  social  status  of  the  great  bulk  of  poor  folk 
whom  Providence  has  delivered  to  their  charge. 
On  the  contrary,  they  are  more  and  more  exposed 
to  uprising  and  anarchy,  such  as  that  so  terribly 
exemplified  in  Mexico,  and  farther  afield  in  Russia. 
If  they  would  preserve  their  culture  they  must 
extend  it.  It  is  true  that  these  responsibilities 
concerning  the  Cholos  and  Indians  have  of  recent 
years  been  more  widely  recognized,  but  much 
remains  to  be  done  in  the  field  of  practice.  Else- 
where I  venture  to  discuss,  in  the  closing 
chapters  of  this  book,  what  would  appear  to  be 
the  lines  upon  which  the  solution  of  this  vital 
question  of  Spanish  America  should  proceed. 

Peru  is  not  yet  freed  from  the  revolutionary  habit, 
the  game  of  politics  which  brings  unrest  and  at 
times  destruction.  The  sweets  of  office  are  always 
alluring.  The  game  is  generally  played  in  Peru 
by  but  a  few,  the  bulk  of  the  people  standing 
aloof.  Its  incidents  are  often  extremely  picturesque 
and  at  times  operatic.  A  president  may,  one  day, 
be  in  the  zenith  of  his  power,  surrounded  by  his 
admirers  and  fellow -administrators.  The  next, 
arrested  by  a  rival  with  a  handful  of  soldiers,  he 
may  find  himself  on  board  a  steamer  for  Panama, 
deported,  banished  and  alone.  This  method  is 
at  least  better  than  that  which  at  earlier  times 
involved  political  murders,  some  of  which  stand 
forth  in  the  republican  history  of  Peru. 

In  justice,  however,  it  must  be  said  that  such 


EARTHQUAKES  171 

stains  on  the  pages  of  the  past  are  not  more 
marked  in  Peru  than  in  the  case  of  some  of  her 
neighbours  in  the  New  World.  Moreover,  it  is 
useless  for  the  European  to  pretend  to  arraign 
the  Spanish  American  for  these  practices,  whilst 
his  own  house  is,  or  has  so  recently  been,  the 
scene  of  such  dreadful  disorders. 

From  the  disorders  of  man  here  on  the  great 
Pacific  coast,  let  us  turn  to  the  unrest  of  Nature. 
During  our  stay  in  Lima  we  may  have  experienced 
an  earthquake  shock,  slight  or  considerable,  and 
with  others  have  hastily  left  our  dwelling.  Upon 
this  coast  the  scourge  of  the  earthquake  and  the 
tidal  wave  is  at  times  laid  heavy  upon  the  dwellers. 
The  destruction  of  Valparaiso  is  but  a  recent 
occurrence,  as  was  that  of  San  Francisco,  in 
California.  To-morrow,  these  or  any  other  cities 
along  the  unstable  edge  of  this  hemisphere  might 
be  brought  low  from  the  same  cause. 

Here  is  a  picture  of  terror  from  the  middle  of 
the  eighteenth  century.  It  was  in  Lima,  the 
beautiful  capital  of  Peru,  when,  on  a  summer  night 
in  October  1746,  the  folk  of  the  city  were  leaving 
the  temples  after  celebrating  the  fiestas  of  Saint 
Simon  and  Saint  Jude.  Rich  and  noble  person- 
ages, escorted  by  their  slaves,  were  exchanging, 
as  was  customary,  friendly  visits.  The  moon  shone 
brilliantly  from  a  cloudless  sky ;  all  was  quiet  and 
peaceful :  the  twang  of  a  guitar  or  other  evening 
whispers  of  the  city  alone  broke  the  serenity.  The 
bells  of  the  convents  and  the  church-tower  clocks 
struck  half -past  ten.  It  was  bedtime. 


172       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Suddenly  a  terrific  shaking  of  the  earth  took 
place ;  the  foundations  of  the  world  seemed 
loosened,  the  people  were  thrown  from  their  beds ; 
the  towers  of  the  churches  fell ;  the  walls  and 
roofs  of  the  houses  crashed  in ;  the  most  dreadful 
panic  reigned  as  thousands  of  persons  were 
smothered  in  living  tombs.  It  was  an  earth- 
quake. 

The  shock  lasted  three  minutes,  during  which 
the  earth  was  wrenched  and  torn  as  if  by  a  giant. 
In  the  time  it  takes  to  tell  the  city  was  destroyed, 
and  the  work  of  over  two  hundred  years  brought 
to  ruin.  Of  a  city  with  60,000  souls,  not  more 
than  twenty-five  houses  remained.  Of  the  two 
great  towers  of  the  cathedral,  one  fell  upon  the 
domed  roof  and  the  other  on  the  belfry,  destroy- 
ing the  temple  in  great  part  —  so  chronicled  a 
Jesuit  priest  who  witnessed  it.  Five  magnificent 
churches  were  laid  in  ruins,  with  sixty  convents, 
chapels  and  monasteries.  The  great  buildings  fell 
upon  the  small — all  were  demolished.  The  streets 
were  blocked  with  wreckage  :  the  inhabitants,  in 
all  states  of  dress  and  undress,  striving  to  flee,  were 
crushed  by  falling  walls.  Sweet  maidens  of  Lima, 
old  hags  from  the  back  streets,  noble  and  priest, 
gallant  and  beggar,  all  in  their  terror  jostled  each 
other.  Those  engaged  in  illicit  amours  confessed 
their  sins  to  unheeding  ears.  The  viceroy's  palace 
fell ;  the  triumphal  arch  with  the  equestrian  statue 
of  Philip  V  fell ;  the  Royal  University  and  colleges 
fell ;  the  Tribunal  of  the  Inquisition  was  reduced 
to  fragments. 


TIDAL  WAVES  173 

In  Lima  at  this  time  Catholicism  was  in  the 
zenith  of  its  power  and  splendour  and  the  faith 
of  the  people  strongest.  But  no  one  dare  approach 
the  churches,  notwithstanding  that  they  were  the 
home  of  God.  The  shocks  continued — more  than 
two  hundred  in  twenty-four  hours — and  went  on 
for  three  days.  Trenches  were  opened  to  bury 
the  dead.  The  stench  of  the  dead  bodies  of 
mules  smothered  in  their  stables  was  unbearable. 
Over  six  thousand  persons  perished. 

Whilst  the  stricken  people  were  seeking  their 
lost  relatives,  another  terror  was  visited  upon 
them.  Suddenly,  from  Callao  appeared  a  negro 
on  horseback,  his  eyes  starting  from  their  sockets, 
shouting  in  accents  of  terror :  "  Save  yourselves  1 
the  sea  is  coming  sweeping  in  over  the  coast  I 
It  will  be  upon  you ! " 

Lima  is  but  a  few  miles  from  Callao,  with  a 
strip  of  coastal  land  between.  The  earthquake 
had  given  rise,  as  it  commonly  does  on  that  coast, 
to  a  tidal -wave,  which  was  now  rushing  inland. 
It  did  not,  however,  reach  Lima,  falling  some 
distance  short,  and,  it  is  said,  rising  to  150  feet 
above  sea-level.  But  the  people  already  seemed 
to  see  themselves  overwhelmed.  A  priest,  half 
naked,  wounding  his  own  breast  in  penitential 
frenzy,  rushed  through  the  streets,  ashes  on  his 
head,  the  bit  and  bridle  of  a  'mule  in  his  mouth . 
"  This  is  the  punishment  of  heaven  upon  sinners  !  " 
he  cried,  and  he  beat  himself  with  an  iron  bar 
until  the  blood  gushed  from  his  body.  At  the 
sight,  thousands  of  persons  fell  on  their  knees, 


174       ALONG   THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

imploring  pardon  from  heaven,  confessing  their 
crimes,  but  "  as  all  were  sinners,  none  lent  ear 
to  the  confession  of  others,  being  too  much 
occupied  in  recounting  their  own  misdeeds." 

In  Callao  a  more  dreadful  scene  was  enacted. 
After  the  first  great  shock  of  the  earthquake,  the 
people  tried  to  flee  from  the  town,  but  the  gates 
had  been  locked  for  the  night,  and  whilst  they 
flocked  the  streets,  screaming  and  praying,  en- 
deavouring to  avoid  the  falling  walls,  a  terrible 
thing  was  seen.  The  sea  had  gone  out  for  more 
than  two  miles  from  the  shore,  forming  mountains 
of  water  that  seemed  to  reach  the  skies.  The 
mountains  of  water  then  rushed  forward  and  fell 
with  horrid  crash  upon  the  doomed  city,  sub- 
merging the  ships  in  the  bay  or  carrying  them 
in  among  the  houses.  The  cries  for  mercy  to 
heaven  were  vain  :  there  was  no  mercy  shown 
them,  and  the  people  perished.  When  at  length 
the  waters  retired,  nothing  was  left  of  Callao  but 
part  of  the  wall  and  the  two  great  doors  of 
the  city.1 

To  this  day  the  image  of  Nuestra  Senora  de  los 
Temblores — Our  Lady  of  the  Earthquakes — is 
carried  through  the  streets  of  Lima,  as  of  other 
Peruvian  towns,  such  as  Arequipa,  which  has 
suffered  terribly  from  earthquakes  in  its  history, 
whenever  the  earth  trembles,  that  the  heavens  may 
be  appeased. 

A  moral  effect  of  these  visitations  is  to  be 
noted  by  the  traveller  in  Peru.  It  is  seen  that 
*  See  the  Author's  The  Andes  and  the  Amazon. 


DRESS  AND  MORALS  175 

the  women  of  the  labouring  class  wear  very  long 
skirts  that  often  drag  in  the  mud  or  dust.  It 
was  ordained  that,  the  formerly  short  skirts  being 
immodest  and  displeasing  to  heaven,  which,  it  was 
held,  had  punished  the  people  by  that  earthquake, 
they  should  henceforth  be  worn  long  enough  to 
conceal  the  ankles  ! 

Perhaps  the  devotees  of  exaggerated  feminine 
fashion  in  Europe  to-day  might  usefully  ponder 
these  occurrences  ! 


CHAPTER    VI 
ALONG    THE    PACIFIC    COAST 

IN    PERU,    BOLIVIA    AND    CHILE 

OUR  course  still  lies  southward.  The  steamer, 
at  times  approaching  sufficiently  near  the  coast  or 
calling  at  the  small  seaports  to  set  down  pas- 
sengers or  to  embark  merchandise— of  ores,  cotton, 
sugar,  cattle  and  so  forth— permits  glimpses  of 
the  littoral,  the  long  stretches  of  desert  alternating 
with  fruitful  vales,  irrigated  by  the  rivers  descend- 
ing from  the  Cordillera.  Here  and  there  the 
curious  medanos,  or  moving  sand-dunes,  arrest  the 
eye ;  1  here  and  there  are  olive -groves  and  vine- 
yards and  other  cultivation  of  Southern  Peru, 
where  excellent  wines  are  produced.  Soon  we 
shall  pass  the  Chilean  frontier,  and  away  in  the 
interior  lies  Bolivia,  among  the  distant  Andes, 
whose  grey  and  solemn  wall  looks  down  eternally 
upon  the  seaboard. 

Let  us  ascend  from  the  coast  by  one  of  the  rail- 
ways here,  that  running  from  the  Peruvian  port  of 
Mollendo,  an  exceedingly  bad  and  exposed  road- 

1  Their  movement  is  not  readily  apparent. 

170 


AREQUIPA  177 

stead,  in  which1,  at  times,  it  is  difficult  to  gain  the 
shore  at  all  from  the  heavy  surf. 

The  Southern  Railway,  ascending  the  dreadful 
volcanic  wastes,  and  barren,  rocky  spurs  which 
mark  this  region,  reaches  the  pleasing  city  of 
Arequipa,  lying  at  nearly  8,000  feet  elevation.  It 
stands  at  the  foot  of  the  Misti,  a  high,  snow- 
covered  volcano,  whose  conical  form'  reveals  its 
geological  structure,  a  prominent  landmark  in  this 
part  of  Peru,  seen  far  over  the  surrounding  deserts . 
The  tonic  breezes  and  blue  sky  give  to  Arequipa 
an  invigorating  environment.  The  cathedral,  a 
handsome  structure,  and  the  houses,  are  built  of 
volcanic  freestone,  which  gives  an  air  of  solidity 
and  repose  to  the  place. 

In  including  Arequipa  in  our  survey  of  the  coast 
we  shall  be  consulting  the  wishes  of  the  people  of 
the  city,  who  prefer  to  consider  themselves  as  of 
the  coastal  region— with  all  that  such  a  position 
conveys— for  the  coast  represents  a  more  advanced 
culture  here,  as  contrasted  with  the  Sierra,  or 
Cordillera. 

The  fortunate  traveller  will  retain  pleasing  im- 
pressions of  Arequipa  and  its  society— its 

Bright  skies  and  brighter  eyes. 

The  railway,  leaving  Arequipa,  passes  the  main 
range  of  the  Cordillera  at  an  elevation  of  nearly 
1 5,000  feet,  and  descends  to  Lake  Titicaca,  whence 
fresh-water  navigation  on  this  high  inland  sea 
carries  the  traveller  into  Bolivia. 

VOL.  I.  12 


178       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Lake  Titicaca  is  perhaps  the  most  remarkable 
lake  in  the  world.  A  body  of  fresh  water, 
12,500  feet  above  the  sea,  and  two  hundred  miles 
long,  upon  which  we  navigate  out  of  sight  of  land, 
is  perhaps  unique.  From  the  steamer  the  im- 
posing range  of  the  White  Cordillera  of  Bolivia 
is  seen,  the  snow -covered  Andes,  from  Sorata  to 
Illimani,  whose  crests  or  peaks  rise  to  over 
20,000  feet.  We  remark  the  craft  of  the  natives, 
the  curious  balsas  of  woven  grass,  sometimes  with 
mat  sails,  in  which  they  navigate  the  lake.  Titi- 
caca is  peculiar  in  being  a  hydrographic  entity, 
having  no  outlet  except  that  the  water  flows  for 
a  few  miles  along  a  channel  to  the  adjacent  Lake 
Poopo.  Fed  by  the  melting  snow  of  the  Andes, 
the  waters  are  kept  down  solely  by  the  agency 
of  evaporation  and  some  possible  seepage. 

Beyond  these  high  lake  basins  and  the  mountain 
crests  to  the  east  stretch  the  illimitable  forests 
of  the  Amazon,  partly  unexplored,  a  lure  to  the 
traveller. 

But  we  must  return  to  the  seaboard.  We 
have  already  remarked  that  Bolivia  possesses 
no  ports.  She  is  isolated  from1  the  coast, 
having  lost  the  port  of  Antofagasta  in  the  Nitrate 
War  of  last  century. 

In  passing,  it  might  be  remarked  that  the  comity 
of  the  South  American  nations  on  the  coast  might 
be  consolidated  if  this  seaport  could  be  restored 
to  Bolivia.  Nothing1  in  the  future  is  likely  to 
cause  more  enmity  than  the  arbitrary  cutting-off 
of  peoples  by  adjoining  nations  from  access  to 


THE  NITRATE  REGION 

seas  and  navigable  rivers,  whether  in  America  or 
Europe.  The  nitrate  region,  which  was  the  scene 
of  the  bloody  struggle  between  Peru  and  Chile, 
and  in  which  Bolivia  took  part,  stretches  like  a 
veritable  Sahara  upon  the  littoral  here,  south  of 
Tacna  and  Arica.  These  two  last-named  pro- 
vinces were,  students  of  South  American  polity  will 
recollect,  possessions  of  Peru,  and  are  now  held 
by  Chile.  They  are  still  the  cause  of  bitter  con- 
troversy between  the  two  nations,  which  periodi- 
cally threatens  to  bring  about  war  between  them. 
It  is  greatly  to  be  lamented  that  this  fruitful  source 
of  contention  cannot  now  be  settled,  and  an  era  of 
neighbourly  feeling  brought  about,  instead  of  the 
hypocritical  diplomatic  expediency  and  veiled  hatred 
which  do  duty  for  international  relations  on  this 
coast.  The  matter  might  well  be  made  the  sub- 
ject of  arbitration,  with  friendly  nations  (perhaps 
Britain  or  the  United  States)  as  umpires. 

The  sun-baked  rocks  and  sands  of  this  part  of 
South  America  have  been  stained  with  the  blood 
of  thousands  of  Chileans  and  Peruvians,  and  the 
same  events  might  occur  again.  Yet  both  these 
nations  have  more  territory  than  they  can  efficiently 
develop. 

But  the  Spanish  American  people  have  ever 
much  difficulty  in  settling  their  quarrels.  Their 
traits  of  pride  and  over -individualism,  inherited 
from  the  Spaniard,  render  it  difficult  to  give  way. 
If  one  performs  an  act  of  magnanimity,  the  other 
may  suspect  or  accuse  it  of  weakness  or  cowardice. 
Both  wrap  themselves  in  haughty  reserve,  both 


180       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

invoke  the  high  gods  to  bear  witness  to  their  own 
truth,  both  are  quixotic  and  quick-tempered.  Yet 
they  are  people  of  the  same  civilization,  speech, 
laws,  literature  and  culture,  with  splendid  qualities 
and  a  promising  future,  and  if  these  quarrels  could 
be  composed,  the  progress  of  the  region  would 
be  hastened. 

The  port  of  Iquique  (with  Pisagua),  south  of 
Arica,  is  well  known  to  many  travellers  and  other 
persons  interested  in  the  Chilean  nitrate  fields,  of 
which  it  is  the  principal  shipping  centre. 

The  greater  share  of  the  business  of  nitrate 
production  is  in  British  hands.  The  oficinas 
are  establishments  peculiar  to  Northern  Chile, 
forming  small  colonies  or  localities,  whose  workers 
consist  of  the  Chilean  rotos—a,  hardy  and  tur- 
bulent but  industrious  folk— headed  by  English 
managerial  staffs. 

Around  these  centres  of  industry,  on  every  hand, 
broken  here  and  there  by  small  oases  where  water- 
springs  occur,  stretches  some  of  the  most  dreadful 
desert  land  in  the  world.  Such,  for  example,  are 
the  desert  of  Tarapaca,  and  those  intervening 
between  the  nitrate  pampas  and  the  Cordillera, 
where  neither  man  nor  animal  can  live,  nor  blade 
of  herbage  can  flourish.  Nature  here,  as  far  as 
the  organic  world  is  concerned,  is  dead,  or  has 
never  lived.  , 

Iquique  is  a  town  of  wooden  houses,  overlooked 
by  sand-dunes  that  threaten  it  from  the  wind- 
swept desert,  but  it  has  pleasing  features,  and  the 
English  colony  here,  with  its  well-known  club— 


THE  NITRATE  REGION  181 

it  has  a  reputation  for  hospitality,  and,  incidentally, 
the  consumption  of  cocktails— has  its  own  marked 
characteristics.  The  Nitrate  Railway  ascends 
through  high,  broken  country  to  the  east  to  the 
Pampa.  Indeed,  the  life  and  thought  of  the  region 
is  largely,  embodied  in  the  words  "  Nitrate  "  and 
"Pampa." 

The  deposits  of  this  mineral  are  unique  in 
geology.  There  is1  none  other  of  the  same  nature 
on  the  globe.  The  mineral  lies  in  horizontal  beds 
a  few  feet  beneath  the  surface.  We  may  be  riding 
over  the  flat,  absolutely  barren  pant  pa,  or  plain, 
floored  with  nothing  but  fragments  of  clinkstone, 
eroded  by  the  ever -drifting  sand  and  unrestful 
wind,  gleaming  in  the  metallic  sunlight,  for  no 
shower  of  rain  ever  visits  this  wilderness,  a  place 
where  we  might  think  Nature  has  nothing  to  offer 
of  use  or  profit.  But  we  should  be  mistaken.  An 
excavation  will  reveal  the  sheet  of  white  salts 
beneath,  deposited  in  geological  ages  past  by 
marine  or  lake  action,  under  conditions  not  clearly 
understood—deposits  which  cover  many  miles  of 
territory.  The  material  is  blasted  out  in  open 
mining  and  conveyed  to  the  oficinas— large 
establishments  of  elaborate  machinery  and  appli- 
ances—where it  is  boiled,  refined,  re-crystallized 
and  thence  shipped  for  export. 

Still  farther  afield  through  the  deserts  here  are 
vast  areas  of  salt,  the  ground  presenting  the 
appearance  of  a  suddenly  arrested,  billowy  sea,  over 
which  the  horseman  makes  his  way  like  a  lost 
spirit  in  Hades.  Upon  the  horizon  are  the  steely 


182       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Andes,  upon  whose  plateaux  here,  reached  by  the 
highest  railway  in  the  world,  we  find  rich  copper 
mines,  such  as  those  of  Colhuahuassi,  and  various 
deposits  of  the  salts  of  copper. 

But  to  return  to  the  coast.  It  was  upon  this 
melancholy  seaboard,  the  coast  of  Tarapaca,  that 
a  sea-fight,  classic  in  the  annals  of  South  America, 
and  indeed  one  of  the  very  earliest  of  battles 
between  ironclad  ships,  took  place— an  engagement 
which  has  rendered  the  names  of  Pratt  and  Grau, 
the  Chilean  and  the  Peruvian  admirals,  immortal 
in  the  memory  of  their  respective  countrymen. 

Peru  and  Chile  were  engaged  in  life  and  death 
struggle  with  each  other  on  land  and  sea.  Iquique, 
then  a  Peruvian  port,  was  blockaded  by  Chile. 
Grau,  having  sailed  from  Callao  for  Arica  with  the 
Huascar  and  Independencia,  which  vessels  practi- 
cally constituted  the  Peruvian  Navy,  heard  of  the 
blockade,  and  proceeded  to  Iquique  to  engage  the 
enemy.  The  day  was  breaking  as  the  Peruvian 
vessels  arrived  off  the  port.  The  approach  was 
seen  by  the  Esmeralda  and  the  Covadonga,  two 
Chilean  ships,  and  Captain  Pratt,  on  board  the 
Esmeralda,  decided  to  give  battle,  notwithstanding 
that  the  Peruvian  vessels  were  ironclads,  whilst 
his  own  commands  were  unarmoured.  It  was  a 
brave  resolution,  but  the  Chileans  were  born  sea- 
fighters  . 

The  Huascar  was  a  turret-ship,  built  at 
Birkenhead  in  1866,  but  of  only  1,130  tons, 
armed  with  Whitworth  and  Armstrong  guns,  but 
with  armour -plating  incapable  of  resisting  any 


THE   STORY  OF  THE  HUASCAR     183 

heavy  cannonade.  The  Independenda  was  an 
older  type  ironclad,  of  2,000  tons,  built  in  London 
in  1865.  f 

The  Esmeralda  was  a  wooden  corvette,  and  the 
Covadonga  a  wooden  gunboat  which  had  been 
captured  from  the  Spaniards  in  the  expedition  sent 
by  Spain  against  Chile  and  Peru  in  1866.  They 
carried  Armstrong  and  Nordenfelt  guns.  The 
Chileans  had  some  powerful  ironclads,  as  we  shall 
see  later,  but  they  were  investing  Callao  at  the 
moment . 

Thus  unequally  armed,  the  contestants  began  the 
engagement.  The  Huascar  opened  fire  upon  the 
Covadonga,  and  the  Independenda  strove  to  ram 
her.  The  Huascar  then  turned  her  attention  to 
the  Esmeralda,  and  so  the  battle  proceeded  for  a 
space.  At  length,  the  Esmeralda,  feeling  the  in- 
feriority of  her  structure,  adopted  the  ruse  of 
steaming  into  shoal  water,  hoping1  to  draw  her 
antagonist  of  greater  draught  ashore.  But  ill- 
fortune  frustrated  this  attempt.  There  was  a  loud 
explosion  on  board,  and  it  was  found  that  a  boiler 
had  burst,  crippling  her.  The  Huascar  rapidly 
closed  in  to  1,000  yards,  and  at  this  range  the 
two  vessels  continued  to  bombard  each  other  in 
a  struggle  to  the  death,  Chilean  and  Peruvian  each 
serving  their  guns  with  equal  valour.  The  noise 
of  the  cannonade  resounded  over  the  crisp  waves 
of  the  Pacific  and  rumbled  far  inland  over  the 
desolate  wastes  of  Tarapaca. 

Fortune  was  against  the  Chilean .  A  shell  struck 
her,  set  her  on  fire,  killing  a  number  of  her  crew 


184       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

and  practically  putting  her  out  of  action.  But  the 
gallant  Pratt  was  not  of  the  stuff  that  surrenders, 
notwithstanding  the  condition  of  his  ship—littered 
with  dead  and  wounded  and  in  imminent  danger 
of  sinking.  He  would  not  strike  his  flag,  whilst 
the  Araucanian  blood  of  his  sailors,  which  never 
gives  way,  would  first  go  down  to  death,  and  the 
vessel  continued  her  now  enfeebled  fire. 

The  Htiascar,  protected  by  her  armour,  was  little 
injured,  and  Grau,  to  end  the  struggle,  determined 
to  ram.  The  ironclad  rushed  in  upon  the  wooden 
hull  of  her  victim,  ramming  her  on  the  port  side. 
Seeing  that  all  was  lost  and  determined  at  least 
to  sell  his  life  dearly,  Captain  Pratt  leapt  from' 
his  own  craft  upon  the  Peruvian's  deck.  But  a 
single  man  had  time  to  follow  him.1  before  the 
ships  separated  again,  and  "  Surrender !  sur- 
render !  "  the  Peruvians  shouted.  For  reply,  Pratt 
rushed  along  the  deck,  attacked  all  who  opposed 
him,  and,  engaging  a  Peruvian  officer,  slew  him. 
But  so  unequal  a  contest  could  not  last,  and, 
pierced  by  a  dozen  bullets,  the  gallant  Pratt  fell 
dead. 

But  the  Esmeralda  refused  to  strike  her  flag, 
the  standard  of  the  single  star,  which  still  waved 
proudly  from  her  peak.  Her  second  in  command 
swore  he  would  follow  the  example  of  his  chief, 
and  so  it  befel.  The  vessels  closed  again,  the 
beak  of  the  Peruvian  ramming  the  Esmeralda  on 
the  starboard  bow,  opening  a  breach.  The  waters 
rushed  in,  the  furnace  fires  were  extinguished,  the 
seamen  were  killed  at  their  posts,  but  ere  they 


PRATT  AND  GRAU  185 

separated,  the  commanding  officer  and  a  sailor 
leaped  upon  the  Huascar's  deck  and  died  fighting, 
falling  as  Pratt  had  fallen.  Again  the  Huascar 
rammed,  simultaneously  discharging  her  guns  into 
the  bowels  of  the  doomed  corvette.  It  was  the 
end  ;  the  Esmeralda  went  down,  carrying  with  her 
to  a  sailor's  grave  all  but  fifty  of  her  crew  of  two 
hundred  souls.  As  for  the  Covadonga,  she  fled 
into  shoal  water,  and  the  Independencia  following, 
ran  aground  on  the  rocks,  a  total  wreck,  and  the 
Covadonga  opened  fire  upon  her. 

Notwithstanding  this  loss,  Grau  harassed  the 
enemy  for  months  with  his  single  ironclad,  until 
excitement  in  Chile  caused'  the  dispatch  of  the 
Chilean  fleet,  which,  having  been  overhauled,  was 
sent  to  hunt  down  this  brave  and  persistent  unit  to 
the  death.  I 

A  misty  morning  off  the  coast  of  Tarapacd. 
Two  Peruvian  war  vessels,  the  Huascar  and  the 
Union,  are  steaming  quietly  to  the  north.  The  mist 
lifts,  and  to  the  east  disclosed  the  sandy  desert 
shore  and  the  far,  faint,  grey  range  of  the  Andes. 
To  the  west,  what?  Three  lines  of  smoke  from 
as  many  hostile  funnels.  The  Union  was  an  in- 
defensible vessel,  and  Grau  signalled  her  to  escape. 
And  now  on  the  north-west  three  other  ominous 
trails  of  smoke  appear — smoke  from1  the  Chilean 
vessels— the  'Atmirante  Cochrane,  so  named  after 
Lord  Cochrane,  the  Englishman  famous  in  Chilean 
history ;  the  O'Higgins,  named  after  the  Irish' 
President  of  Chile ;  and  the  'Loa. 

Escape  was  impossible,  unless  it  were  by  fight- 


186       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

ing  a  way  through  the  line,  and,  against  these 
odds,  the  brave  Grau  prepared  his  ship  for  action. 
He  opened  fire,  striking  the  Cochrane,  whose 
armour,  however,  was  too  strong  to  pierce,  and, 
at  a  thousand  yards,  the  Chilean  replied.  His 
shot  struck  the  old  hand-worked  turret  of  the 
Htiascar  so  that  it  ceased  to  revolve.  Grau  closed 
in  and  strove  to  ram,  but  the  Cochrane  was  a 
twin-screw  steamer,  and  was  manipulated  well. 
The  Cochrane's  armour  was  thick,  her  armament 
heavy,  her  weight  three  times  that  of  the  old 
Huascar.  For  two  hours  the  unequal  fight  raged 
on ;  shot  and  shell  rained  from  both  vessels,  often 
doing  but  little  damage. 

Grau  was  in  the  conning-tower  when  his  end 
came,  directing  the  action  of  his  ship,  calm  and 
collected.  Suddenly  there  was  a  crash,  and  when 
the  smoke  cleared  away  it  was  seen  that  the 
conning-tower  had  been  struck  by  a  shell.  It 
was  blown  to  pieces,  as  were  the  brave  Peruvian 
admiral  and  his  officer,  nothing  remaining  of  their 
bodies  but  a  few  ghastly  fragments. 

And  now  the  powerful  Blanco  Encalada,  one 
of  the  Chilean  ironclads,  closed  in.  A  shell  from 
her  guns  at  six  hundred  yards  took  off  the  head 
of  the  Huascar 's  second  in  command  and  wounded 
the  third  officer.  Scarcely  had  the  fourth  had 
time  to  take  his  place  when  he  was  injured  by  a 
shell,  and  the  junior  lieutenant  assumed  command 
of  a  ship  littered  with  the  dead  and  dying.  Yet 
though  the  guns  in  the  tops  were  silent  and  those 
below  disabled,  the  turret  injured,  the  deck  strewn 


THE  SEA-FIGHT  OF  TARAPACA    187 

with  mutilated  bodies,  the  Peruvians  kept  up  the 
fight,  the  dying  Huascar  striving  at  least  to  rain 
one  of  her  enemies  before  she  sank.  But  at  length, 
being  utterly  disabled,  the  vessel  hauled  down  her 
flag. i 

Thus  ended  this  epic  sea-fight,  and  with  it  went 
the  sea-power  of  Peru.  Thus,  moreover,  was  the 
value  of  the  ironclad  demonstrated— the  armoured 
vessel,  the  forbear  of  the  Dreadnought.  The  tor- 
pedo was  also  used  in  this  fight,  one  fired  by  the 
Huascar  turning  back  upon  the  vessel  itself, 
where  it  would  have  caused  disaster  earlier  had 
not  a  sailor  jumped  overboard  and  diverted  its 
course . 

The  attack  on  Lima  by  the  Chileans  and  its 
defence  by  the  Peruvians,  and  other  episodes  of 
the  war  following  on  the  above  events,  make  terrible 
reading— a  history  of  which,  however,  we  cannot 
here  enter  upon. 

We  continue  to  pass  the  coasts  of  the  nitrate- 
bearing  lands,  whose  working  and  export  yield  the 
Republic  of  Chile  their  greatest  source  of  revenue. 

It  was  off  the  Chilean  coast,  it  will  be  recol- 
lected, that  another  and  more  modern  engage- 
ment between  vessels  of  war  took  place,  when  a 
weaker  British  squadron  was  overpowered  by  the 
German  Pacific  Fleet— a  disaster  amply  wiped  out 
off  the  Falkland  Isles,  a  little  later  on. 

The  railway  that  ascends  from  the  port  of 
Antofagasta  also  enters  upon  the  nitrate  pampas, 

1  See  the  Author's  Peru,  in  the  South  American  Series  ;   also 
Markham's  History  of  Peru. 


188       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

and  there  are  copper -bearing  districts  tributary  to 
the  line.  At  10,000  feet  elevation  the  River 
Loa  is  crossed,  and  beyond  we  approach  the  ever- 
smoking,  snow-capped  cone  of  San  Pedro,  one  of 
the  Andean  volcanoes  here.  Then  the  gleaming 
surface  of  the  borax  "  lake  "  of  Cebollar,  the 
largest  borax  deposit  on  the  face  of  the  globe, 
catches  the  eye.  The  great  snow-clad  Cordillera, 
with  the  giant  Ollague,  20,000  feet,  on  the  border 
of  Chile  and  Bolivia,  is  passed,  and  the  railway 
reaches  the  Bolivian  plateau,  the  southern  portion 
of  the  Titicaca  basin,  and  passes  the  town  of  Unini, 
with  its  rich  silver  mines,  skirts  Lake  Poopo,  and 
reaches  the  town  of  Oruro,  famous  for  its  tin. 

Beyond,  this  interesting  line  reaches  La  Paz, 
the  capital  of  Bolivia.  The  same  place  is  now 
served  by  the  railway  recently  built  from  Arica, 
and  thus  the  interior  of  the  mountainous  Republic 
of  Bolivia  is  rendered  more  accessible.  Recent 
construction  has  effected  a  juncture  with  the  rail- 
way system  of  Argentina,  thus  affording  a  further 
transcontinental  route.  . 

After  the  Tropic  of  Capricorn  is  passed,  the 
Andes  approach  nearer  to  the  sea,  revealing  their 
snowy  crests  from  the  steamer's  deck,  and  from 
Valparaiso  the  fruitful  valleys  of  Chile  unfold, 
watered  from  the  mountains— a  more  temperate 
zone,  where  the  flowers  as  of  Europe  may  be  seen 
and  the  culture  of  the  Chilean  people  is  displayed. 

Of  his  native  land  a  Chilean  poet  sings  that 
its  bulwarks  are  the  mighty  Cordillera,  its  frontiers 
the  sea— a  romantically  expressed  conception  of 


BOLIVIA  AND  CHILE  189 

the  position  of  Chile  which1  is  geographically 
correct . 

A  zone  of  territory  three  thousand  miles  in  length 
and  nowhere  broader  than  two  hundred  miles,  and, 
in  general,  only  a,  hundred,  confined  between  the 
Andes  and,1  the  Pacific  Ocean,  the  Republic 
has  perhaps  the  most  curious  form!  of  any 
country  in  the  world.  Under  his  own  flag  the 
Chilean  may  journey  from  the  heat  of  the  Tropics 
to  the  cold  of  the  Antarctic  by  taking  steamer  up 
and  down  his  coast  or  by  a  more  or  less  arduous 
land  journey  along  the  littoral.  Such  is  the  topo- 
graphy of  this  interesting  land— interspersed  with 
burning  deserts,  fruitful  valleys  and  with  glimpses 
of  delightful  landiscape,  snowy  mountains  and 
profound  forests.  • 

To  have  opened  a  sketch  of  Chile  with'  a  refer- 
ence to  a  poetical  conception  is  not  to  argue  that 
the  Chileans  are  a  dreamy  and  over-poetical  folk. 
They  are,  on  the  contrary,  practical,  hardy,  and 
courageous— courage  which,  in  their  conflicts  with 
their  neighbours  in  the  past,  and  in  their  own  inter- 
necine strife  and  revolution,  has  at  times  given 
way  to  cruelty  and  savagery— a  condition,  however, 
not  confined  to  these  more  southern  inhabitants 
of  the  South  American  Continent. 

By  reason  of  their  more  practical  ideas  and! 
enterprise  in  commercial  matters,  their  ability — 
which  is  largely  absent  from  the  Spanish  American 
people  as  a  rule — of  forming  successful  joint-stock 
companies  to  exploit  this  or  that  field  of  industry 
or  finance,  their  superior  navy  and  seamanship, 


190       ALONG   THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

and  for  diverse  reasons,,  the  Chileans  have  been 
termed,  or  have  liked  to  term  themselves,  the 
"  English  of  South  America  "  a  soubriquet  varied 
by  the  appellation  of  the  "  Americans  or  Yanguis 
(Yankees)  of  South  America."  The  Chilean  Navy 
was  modelled  after  that  of  Britain ;  the  army, 
however,  after  the  German  style. 

The  early  history  of  Chile,  if  less  picturesque 
than  that  of  Peru,  is  full  of  incident— often  dread- 
ful—and doughty  deeds.  Bluff  old  Almagro  it 
was  who  set  his  eyes  upon  Chile— Almagro,  the 
partner  of  Francisco  Pizarro,  partners  whose 
quarrels  finally  resulted  in  the  death  of  both. 

The  Indians  of  Cuzco  had  told  their  conquerors 
of  a  land  that  lay  beyond  the  desert  and  the  moun- 
tains to  the  south,  reaching  no  man  knew  whither  ; 
a  land  not  a  great  empire,  but  one  of  many  tribes, 
and  so  easily  to  be  subdued,  and,  moreover,  over- 
flowing with  gold  and  silver.  This  land  they  called 
Chile.  Fiery  spirits  flocked  to  Almagro's  standard 
from  Panama  for  another  of  those  "  dare-devil 
heroic  marches  into  the  unknown  world  which 
only  greed  and  faith  could  inspire."  Almagro's 
band  consisted  of  600  white  men  and  15,000 
Indians,  and  it  left  Cuzco  in  1535. 

'  To  have  descended  to  the  coast  and  thence 
march  by  the  lowlands  would  have  been  the  easiest 
way,  but  it  was  the  longer,  and  the  adventurers 
were  as  impatient  to  reach  their  goal  as  the  Pizarros 
were  to  see  them  gone :  so  Almagro  marched 
straight  along  the  Inca  road,  past  Lake  Titicaca, 


CONQUEST  OF  CHILE  191 

across  part  of  Bolivia  and  what  is  now  Argentina, 
and  then  over  the  Andes.  Daring  and  difficult 
as  some  of  the  Spanish  marches  had  been,  none 
hitherto  had  had  to  encounter  the  hardships  that 
faced  Almagro  on  his  Andean  progress.  Cold, 
famine,  and  toilsome  ways  killed  his  followers  by 
thousands,  and  to  the  frost  and  snow  of  the  moun- 
tain sides  succeeded  hundreds  of  miles  of  arid 
deserts,  where  no  living  thing  grew  and  no  drop 
of  water  fell . 

"  At  length,  with  but  a  small  remnant  of  his  host, 
Almagro  found  himself  in  a  well-defined  region, 
consisting  roughly  of  a  vast  valley  running  north 
and  south,  the  giant  chain  of  the  Andes  enclosing 
it  on  the  east  with  foothills  and  spurs  projecting 
far  into,  and  in  some  places  almost  intersecting, 
the  narrow  plain,  and  a  lower  range  of  mountains 
bordering  it  upon  the  west,  and  shutting  it  off 
from  the  sea,  except  here  and  there,  where  a  break 
in  the  chain  occurred.  The  valley  was  relatively 
narrow,  so  narrow  that  in  many  places  the  hills 
on  either  side  were  clearly  visible,  but  the  adven- 
turers as  yet  knew  not  that  this  curious  strip  of 
broken  plain  between  two  mountain  ranges  ex- 
tended with  its  immense  line  of  coast  for  well- 
nigh  2,000  miles,  and  was  destined  to  become, 
from  its  natural  formation,  the  first  maritime 
nation  of  South  America. 

"  Almagro  found  the  sturdy,  skin-clad  tribesmen 
of  the  mountain  slopes  and  elevated  plains  far 
different  foemen  from  the  soft,  mild  slaves  of  the 
Incas  in  the  tropical  north.  Their  very  name  of 


192       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Chile  came  from  the  word  meaning  cold  ;  and 
their  temperate  climate  had  hardened  them  and 
made  them  robust.  Gold  and'  silver,  it  is  true, 
they  had  in  plenty,  and  held  them  in  no  very  high 
esteem,  but  they  fought  with  a  fierceness  of  which 
the  Spaniards  had  had  no  experience  in  America 
in  defence;  of  their  liberty  and  right  to  live. 
This,  it  was  clear,  was  to  be  no  easy  conquest, 
and  Almagro,  learning  that  the  Peruvians  of  the 
north  had  risen  in  a  mass  against  the  Spanish' 
oppression,  abandoned  Chile,  and  marched  back 
to  Peru  to  fish  in  troubled  waters,  and  in  due  time 
to  meet  a  felon's  death  at  the  hands  of  vengeful 
Pizarro. 

"  But  the  tales  of  the  rich  and  fertile  land  of  the 
south  had  whetted  the  greed  of  the  victor,  and 
when  old  Almagro  was  finally  disposed  of,  Pizarro 
set  about  adding!  Chile  to  his  own  vast  domain,  held 
for  Charles  the  Emperor  and  King  of  Spain,  with 
the  sanction  of  Holy  Mother  Church.  The  news 
of  Almagro's  formal  annexation  of  Chile  to  the 
Spanish  Crown,  as  usual  in  such  cases,  set  the 
hungry  courtiers  of  Madrid  clamouring  for  a  share 
of  the  spoil  and  glory,  and  an  incompetent  nonen- 
tity called  Pedro  Sanchez  de  la  Hoz  was  sent  out 
from  Spain  to  complete  the  conquest  of  the  new 
domain  in  the  name  of  the  Emperor.  Pizarro 
knew  well  how  to  deal  with  such  folk,  and  whilst 
appearing  to  respect  the  imperial  orders,  really 
stultified  them.  -What  he  needed  to  do  his  work 
were  iron  soldiers,  dour  Estremenians,  like  him- 
self, who  knew  neither  ruth  nor  fear,  and  one  he 


VALDIVIA  193 

found  after  his  own  heart  in  Pedro  de  Valdivia, 
who  in  the  five  years  since  he  had  joined  the  chief 
in  Peru,  had  proved  that  he  possessed  all  the 
qualities  for  repeating  in  Chile  the  success  of 
Pizarro  in  the  empire  of  the  Incas.  Sanchez  de  la 
Hoz,  nominally  the  leader,  promptly  became  the 
cipher  that  nature  had  intended  him  to  be,  and 
Valdivia  took  the  lead. 

'This  time,  in  1540,  the  safer  way  by  the  coast 
desert  was'  taken,  and  with  a  mere  handful  of 
150  Spanish  soldiers,  but  accompanied  by  a  great 
host  of  Indians,  Valdivia  marched  through  the  in- 
terminable valley,  carrying  with  him  rapine  and 
oppression  for  the  gold  he  coveted.  A  great 
pitched  battle  for  a  time,  early  in  1541,  decided 
the  supremacy  of  the  white  men,  and  Valdivia, 
with  superhuman  energy  and  cruelty  unexampled, 
set  tens  of  thousands  of  Indians  to  work  washing 
auriferous  sand,  delving  in  mines,  cutting  roads 
that  still  exist,  and  clearing  the  way  for  the  advance 
of  the  Spaniards  southward.  In  a  lovely,  fertile, 
elevated  plain,  with  the  eternal  snow-capped  Andes 
looking  down  upon  it,  Valdivia  founded  the 
capital  of  his  new  domain,  the  city  of  Santiago, 
on  the  morrow  of  his  victory  in  February  1541, 
and  from  the  height  of  St.  Lucia  above,  upon  the 
spot  where  the  conqueror  overlooked  the  building 
of  his  city,  his  gallant  figure  in  bronze  still 
dominates  the  fair  scene  of  his  prowess. 

"  Fighting  almost  constantly  for  years,  Valdivia, 
with  ever-growing  forces,  pushed  farther  south. 
Valparaiso  was  founded  in  i  544  as  the  main  sea- 

VOL.   I.  13 


194       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

port  for  the  capital,  and  two  years  afterwards  the 
conqueror  crossed  the  Biobio  River  and  entered 
the  fertile  agricultural  and  pastoral  country  of 
the  Araucanians.  Refined  and  cultivated  as  the 
Incas  of  the  north  had  been,  these  stalwart  Indians 
of  the  temperate  south  surpassed  them  in  the 
sterner  virtues  and  in  the  arts  of  war.  Tales  of 
their  lofty  stature  and  mighty  strength  grew  with' 
the  telling,  and  the  Spaniards  acknowledged  that 
at  last  they  had  met  in  America  a  people  who 
were  more  than  their  match.  Concepcion,  Talca- 
huano,  Imperial,  Valdivia,  one  city  after  the  other 
rose  in  this  land  of  forests  and  fighters,  to  be 
destroyed  again  and  again,  only  to  be  rebuilt. 
Gold  in  abundance,  surpassing  the  visions  even 
of  the  Spaniards,  was  to  be  had  for  the  digging* 
or  washing,  but  the  Indians  would  only  dig  or 
wash  the  metal  whilst  a  white  man  with  a 
harquebus  stood  over  them,  and  not  always  then. 
Poison  and  treachery  were  common  to  both  sides, 
and  cruelty  surpassed  itself.  In  one  battle  Val- 
divia cut  off  the  hands  and  noses  of  hundreds  of 
Indian  prisoners  and  sent  them  back  as  an  object 
lesson,  and  the  Araucanians,  with  devilish  irony, 
killed  the  Spaniards  by  pouring  molten  gold  down 
their  throats. 

"  The  lands  through  which  the  Spaniards  passed 
were  teeming  with  fertility,  and  tilled  like  a  garden, 
and  the  sands  of  the  frequent  rivers  abounded 
in  gold ;  but  the  people  were  hard  to  enslave, 
and  the  leader  that  at  last  aroused  them  for  a 
final  successful  stand  was  Valdivia's  own  Arau- 


CONQUEST  OF  CHILE  195 

canian  serf,  Lautaro.  The  Christian  chief  fell  into 
an  ambush  led  by  him  in  1553,  and  though1 
Valdivia  begged  and  bribed  hard  for  his  life, 
vengeance  sated  itself  upon  him.  His  heart  was 
cut  out,  and  the  Indian  arrows  soaked  in  his  blood, 
the  heart  itself,  divided  into  morsels,  being  after- 
wards eaten  by  the  braves,  whilst  his  bones  were 
turned  into  fifes  to  hearten  the  tribesmen  to  resist 
the  invaders. 

"  For  well-nigh  a  hundred  years  the  fight  went 
on  in  the  country  extending1  from  the  Biobio  to 
the  archipelago  of  Chiloe,  and1  it  ended  at  last 
in  the  formal  recognition  of  the  independence  of, 
this  splendid  race,  who  had  withstood  in  turn  the 
Inca  and  the  white  man.  Even  then  the  struggle 
was  not  over,  for  the  Spaniards  could  ill  brook 
the  presence  of  an  independent  Indian  people  in 
their  midst  as  civilization  and  population  grew  in 
South  America.  But  what  force  and  warfare  could 
never  compass,  time,  intermarriage  and  culture 
have  gradually  effected,  and  in  our  own  times  the 
Araucanians  have  become  Chilean  citizens."  * 

Chile  threw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain  in  1810. 
The  yoke  upon  the  Indies  was  really  falling  off 
itself.  Spain  was  too  weak  to  coerce  her  colonies 
much  longer.  But  in  1814  Spain  tried  again. 
A  half -Irish  Chilean  patriot  was  the  hero  of  this 
struggle,  a  patriot  who,  his  ammunition  giving  out, 
charged  his  guns  with  coin  in  lieu  of  grapeshot 

1  Chile,  Scott    Elliot    (Martin    Hume's    Introduction),  South 
American  Series. 


196       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

and  cut  his  way  to  Santiago,  and  he  on  land  and 
the  Englishman  Cochrane  on  the  sea  caused  Chile 
to  become  one  of  the  foremost  factors  in  the  final 
liberation. 

Many  travellers  have  rendered  homage  to  the 
beauty  of  the  Chilean  landscape.  "  The  appear- 
ance of  the  Andes  from  the  Central  Valley  is 
always  imposing,  grandiose  and  magnificent.  They 
are  unique  :  it  is  worth  crossing  half  the  world 
to  see  them.  The  dry,  stimulating  air  and  the 
beautiful  cloudless  sky  in  themselves  provoke 
enthusiasm."  « 

Elsewhere  I  have  spoken  of  "  the  beautiful 
Andes  and  the  death-dealing  Andes."  Almagro's 
terrible  march  across  the  Chilean  Andes,  as  de- 
scribed elsewhere,  shows  these  characteristics  of 
the  Cordillera  vividly  ^ 

Much  of  the  early  history  of  Chile  is  made 
up  of  the  rebellion  of  the  Indians  ;  their  attacks 
upon  the  coastal  towns,  such  as  Concepcion  and 
Valdivia,  which  they  sacked1,  massacring  the 
Spaniards . 

The  town  of  Concepcion,  in  1751,  suffered 
something  of  the  fate  that  overtook  Lima  and 
Callao  in  the  earthquake  and  tidal  wave,  and 
Santiago,  too,  suffered  greatly.  With  a  crash  the 
tower  of  the  cathedral  fell,  awakening  the  inhabit- 
ants at  midnight.  There  were  horrible  rumbling 
noises— those  curious  subterranean  earthquake 
voices  in  the  Andes.  "There  was  scarcely  time 
to  pray  to  God,"  say  the  chroniclers.  Every  single 

1  Chile,  loc.  cit. 


EARTHQUAKES  AT  VALPARAISO    197 

church  and  house  was  thrown  down,  and  nobody 
could  even  stand  upright.  Those  who  could,  flew  : 
they  fled  to  the  hills  for  refuge— refuge  from  the 
sea,  the  dreadful  tidal  wave.  For  the  ocean  re- 
treated, as  if  mustering  force  for  the  deluge.  Then 
it  returned,  not  once,  but  thrice,  washing  over  Con- 
ception as  if  the  day  of  doom  indeed  had  come. 
The  destruction  of  Valparaiso  in  August  1906 
was  the  last  terrible  disaster  of  this  nature. 

"  The  day  had  been  unusually  calm  and  pleasant. 
At  about  8  p.m.  there  was  a  sudden,  unexpected 
shock,  immediately  followed  by  another  ;  the  whole 
city  seemed  to  swing  backwards  and  forwards : 
then  there  was  a  horrible  jolt,  and  whole  rows  of 
buildings  (about  thirty  blocks  of  hoiises,  three  to 
five  stories  high,  in  the  Avenida  Brasil  alone)  fell 
with  a  terrific  crash.  The  gas,  electric -light  and 
water  mains  were  at  once  snapped,  and  the  whole 
city  was  plunged  in  darkness.  This,  how- 
ever, did  not  last  long,  for,  five  minutes  after 
the  shock,  great  fires  started  in  the  ruined  build- 
ings about  the  Plaza  del  Orden,  and,  aided  by  a 
violent  storm  wind,  which  began  about  the  same 
time,  spread  northwards  over  the  city.  Between 
the  earthquake  and  the  subsequent  fire  ninety 
per  cent,  of  the  houses  are  said  to  have  been  de- 
stroyed. The  Arsenal,  station,  custom-house,  hos- 
pitals, convents,  banks,  club-houses  and  Grand 
Hotel  were  for  the  most  part  ruined,  for  without 
water,  and  in  the  horrible  confusion  that  at  first 
prevailed,  it  was  almost  impossible  to  check  the 


198       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

fires.1  But  the  authorities  showed  no  lack  of 
energy  and  presence  of  mind.  Patrols  of  troops 
and  armed  citizens  kept  watch ;  thieves  and1 
marauders  attempting  to  loot  were  shot.  The  fire 
was,  where  possible,  checked  by  dynamite.  Mes- 
sengers on  horseback  were  sent  to  Santiago  and 
other  places,  appealing  for  help,  and  especially 
for  provisions.  The  telegraph  lines  were  de- 
stroyed ;  the  railways  were  wrecked  for  miles— 
bridges  had  twisted  and  tunnels  had  caved  in— 
but  communication  with  Santiago  seems  to  have 
been  re-established  within  a  wonderfully  short 
time.  This  was  all  the  more  creditable,  for  the 
shocks  continued  on  Friday  and  Saturday,  and 
apparently  did  not  cease  until  about  6  a.m.  on 
Tuesday  morning.  i 

"  The  condition  of  the  wretched  inhabitants  was 
most  pitiable.  Some  60,000  were  encamped  on 
the  barren  hills  above  the  town  without  food  or 
clothing ;  others  took  refuge  on  boats  or  steamers 
in  the  bay,  for  mercifully  there  was  no  tidal  wave 
such  as  commonly  accompanies  great  earth  tremors 
on  that  coast,  and  no  damage  was  done  to  the 
shipping  in  harbour.2  The  number  of  people 
killed  has  been  variously  estimated  at  from  300 
to  10,000  persons;  it  is  probable  that  from  500 

*  The  Central   and   South  American  Cable  Office,  built  of 
tabique,  stood  the  shock.     One  telegraph  operator  seems  to  have 
pluckily  stuck  to  his  post  throughout  the  confusion.  The  Mercurio 
newspaper  office  also  stood  firm,   and  indeed   this  paper  was 
regularly  issued. 

*  The   disturbance  produced   a   tidal  wave   5   feet  high  at 
Hawaii,  Mani  and  Hilo. 


HISTORY  OF  CHILE  199 

to  1,000  were  killed  and  another  1,000  wounded. 
The  damage  done  was  at  least  £20,000,000."  * 

From  earliest  times  the  history  of  Chile  upon 
this  coast  has  been  a  tortured  one— the  barbarities 
and  the  sufferings  both  of  the  early  Spanish  con- 
querors, the  reprisals  of  the  Indians,  the  blood- 
thirsty and  unsubduable  Araucanians,  the  feuds 
between  the  Spaniards  themselves,  the  toll  of 
earthquakes  and  tidal  waves,  the  battles  between 
Spaniard  and  colonist  and  between  Chilean  and 
Peruvian  and  Bolivian,  the  dreadful  pages  of  revo- 
lutionary and  civil  strife.  It  is  veritably  a  blood- 
stained coast,  and  both  man  and  nature  might 
well  cry  to  Heaven  for  surcease.  Yet  to-day  there 
hangs  a  menace  over  it — the  feud  with  Peru  over 
Tacna  and  Arica :  and  for  the  future  the  savage 
strikes  of  the  workers  against  the  oligarchies  of 
industry . 

But  we  need  not  dwell  too  much  on  this 
aspect.  There  are  many  beautiful  and  peaceful 
attributes  about  the  land,  much  to  admire  in  its 
people.  It  has  been  said  that  Chile  seems  to  rise 
more  vigorous  and  more  enterprising  after  every 
disaster. 

Let  us  turn  for  a  space  to  view  somewhat  more 
in  detail  the  Chilean  capital,  as  described  by  a 
recent  writer  : 

"  Santiago,  '  most  noble  and  most  loyal,'  is  a 
mixture  of  Paris,  Madrid  and  Seville.  It  is  far 

*  Chile,  loc.  cit. 


200       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

ahead  of  Spanish  towns  in  its  electric  tramways, 
broad  avenues  and  brisk  movement.  But  the 
larger  houses  are  all  characteristically  Spanish. 
They  are  built  round  a  central  court  or  patio, 
which  is  usually  open  to  the  sky  above  and  full 
of  flowers  and  graceful  shrubs.  Very  often  there 
are  sparkling  fountains  and  statuary  also.  In  fact, 
through  the  great  gateway  of  a  large  Santiago 
house  the  most  delicious  little  views  of  water, 
flowers  and  greenery  can  be  gathered  in  passing. 
This  gateway  has  heavy  wooden  doors,  carefully 
locked  at  night ;  the  windows  opening  on  the 
street  are  usually  heavily  barred,  which  is  by  no 
means  a  useless  precaution. 

'  The  design  of  these  houses  is  a  very  ancient 
one.  Four  stone  huts,  placed  so  as  to  enclose  a 
square,  and  with  but  one  opening  to  the  outside, 
form  a  miniature  fort ;  even  the  mansions  of  the 
great  Santiago  families,  with  four  or  more  stories, 
and  with  the  street  front  elaborately  decorated, 
are  but  a  development  of  this  very  simple 
arrangement . 

"  It  is  in  Santiago  that  one  discovers  what  mar- 
vellous and  gorgeous  results  can  be  obtained  by 
the  use  of  stucco.  Very  often  it  is  tinted  by  rose- 
pink  or  terracotta,  and  it  is  simple  and  easy  to 
make  Corinthian,  Doric  or  Ionic  columns,  to 
model  flowers,  wreaths,  vases,  and  Cupids,  and 
other  classical  figures  by  means  of  this  plastic 
material.  I 

'  The  streets  run,  as  is  almost  invariably  the 
case  in  South  America,  at  right  angles.  The 


SANTIAGO  201 

Alameda  is  a  delicious  avenue  planted  with  trees, 
and  traversed  by  little  streams  of  running  water 
which  give  a  pleasant,  murmuring  sound  and  cool 
the  hot  air  of  midday.  Amongst  the  trees  are 
statues  such  as  those  of  Bernardo  O'Higgins,  San 
Martin  and  many  others. 

"  The  Plaza  da  Armas  has  colonnades  along  the 
sides  which  are  famous  in  Chilean  history,  but  is 
possibly  a  little  disappointing.  Most  of  the  other 
public  buildings,  though  fine  and  magnificent,  do 
not  show  any  very  special  distinctive  character. 
It  is  the  enormous  size,  business-like  character 
and  thoroughly  business-like  tone  that  distinguish 
Santiago.  It  is  quite  obviously  a  metropolis,  and 
indeed,  to  the  upper  classes  in  Chile,  it  is  what 
Paris  is  to  every  Frenchman. 

4  The  Quinta  Normal,  with  its  library, 
Herbarium  and  Zoological  Gardens,  where  the 
Niata  cattle  mentioned  by  Darwin  are  still  main- 
tained, is  a  sort  of  Jardin  d'Acclimatation  and 
Jardin  des  Plantes  in  one. 

"  In  fact,  the  French,  or  rather  Parisian,  instincts 
of  the  upper  classes  in  Santiago  can  be  noticed 
at  every  turn. 

14  It  is  the  fashion  of  books  on  Chile  for  the 
author  to  wax  eloquent  on  the  Cerro  de  Santa 
Lucia.  This  rugged,  projecting  rock  overlooking 
Santiago  should  remind  one  vividly  of  Pedro  de 
Valdivia,  of  Sefiora  Suarez,  and  of  the  heroical 
little  band  that  starved  out  there  the  first  two 
momentous  years  of  Chilean  history. 

144  In  this  valley,   two  leagues  from  the  great 


202       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

Cordillera,  by  the  side  of  the  River  Mapocho,  God 
has  planted  a  mountain  of  a  beautiful  aspect  and 
proportion  which  is  like  a  watch-tower  from  which 
the  whole  plain  is  discovered  with  the  variety  of 
its  culture  in  arable  and  meadow.' 

"  That  is  how  Ovalle  describes  the  hill  of  Santa 
Lucia  in  his  time. 

"  But  what  has  been  done  with  it  ?  Stucco 
vases,  balconies,  balustrades,  gardens,  restaurants, 
and  even  a  theatre,  make  it  impossible,  even  for 
a  moment,  to  remember  the  Conquistadores.  The 
view  is,  however,  still  magnificent,  and  it  is  from 
the  Santa  Lucia  that  one  can  obtain  the  best 
possible  idea  of  Santiago  itself. 

"  In  the  mornings,  one  may  see  the  Santiago 
ladies  hurrying  to  the  churches.  The  power  of 
the  clergy  is  perhaps  most  easily  realized  from 
the  fact  that  no  woman  dares  to  enter  the  church 
in  a  hat  or  bonnet .  Every  one,  rich  or  poor,  noble 
or  lowly,  wears  the  inevitable  Manto.  This  is  a 
sort  of  black  shawl ;  it  is  sometimes  of  very  rich 
and  beautiful  material,  and  it  is  always  folded 
in  such  a  manner  that  it  is  as  becoming  as  possible . 

"  In  the  afternoons  there  are  fine  horses  and 
carriages  to  be  seen,  and  the  jeunesse  doree  may 
be  observed  sauntering  through  the  streets  and 
staring  in  an  open  and  unabashed  manner  at  every 
lady  that  passes .  It  is  not  considered  bad  form ; 
indeed,  it  is  supposed  to  be  the  correct  thing  to 
make  audible  remarks  on  a  lady's  personal  appear- 
ance. '  How  beautiful  is  the  little  one  !  What 
sympathetic  eyes  has  the  elder  lady ! '  and  so  on. 


LIFE  IN  CHILE  203 

"  The  physical  appearance  of  some  of  these 
young  aristocrats  (if  they  really  belong  to  the 
highest  social  circles)  is  not  impressive.  One 
notices  everywhere^  the  narrow  chest,  sloping 
shoulders  and  effeminate  appearance  of  the  typical 
Parisian  roue.  The  corner-boys,  even,  resemble 
the  apache  of  the  boulevards,  and  are  as  dangerous 
and  cowardly  as  these  degenerate  types  of  city 
life. 

"  Perhaps  the  most  characteristic  custom1  of 
Santiago  and  of  all  Chilean  cities  is  the  evening 
'  Paseo,'  or  promenade.  After  dinner,  in  the  cool 
of  the  evening,  people  saunter  under  the  trees, 
very  often  in  some  public  garden  where  a  good 
band  is  playing,  and  gossip  over  the  events  of 
the  day.  \ 

"  There  does  not  seem  to  be  much  jealousy  or 
ill-feeling  between  the  upper  and  lower  classes 
in  Chile,  for  th,e  masses  keep  to  a  different  part 
of  the  Plaza,  and  do  not  intrude  upon  the  pacing- 
ground  of  the  richer  or  better -dressed  people. 

"  This  evening  promenade  is  attended  by  quite 
small  boys  and  girls.  They  do  not  mix,  but  keep 
quite  separate  paths.  Yet  even  the  little  girls  of 
seven  or  eight  years  old  are  finished  coquettes. 
Their  eyes  languishingly  observe  every  man  and 
boy  in  the  Plaza,  and  they  take  care  that  each' 
shall  receive  a  due  share  of  their  smiles  ! 

"  The  governing  classes  of  Chile  are,  for  the  most 
part,  descendants  of  the  Spanish  Conquistadores . 
They  preserve  in  their  own  hands  not  merely  all  im- 
portant government  posts  (civil,  military  and  naval)1, 


204       ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

but  also  they  own  most  of  the  large  landed  estates. 
A  few  of  them,  which  is  very  unusual  in  Spanish 
American  countries,  not  only  own  but  take  some 
part  in  the  management  of  nitrate  oficinas,  banks, 
mines  and  other  industries.  Almost  all  the 
lawyers  and  doctors  are  of  Chilean  birth.  There 
are  two  Universities,  which  supply,  in  a  very  ample 
and  generous  manner,  advocates,  solicitors  and 
medical  men. 

"  On  the  other  hand,  mercantile  business  of  all 
kinds,  both  on  the  large  and  on  the  small  scale, 
is  carried  on  almost  invariably  by  foreigners.  The 
old  Spanish  prejudice  against  traders  is  by  no 
means  dead.  Even  the  small  shopkeepers  seem 
to  be  usually  Spanish  Basques  and  Italians. 

"  In  the  south  there  are  many  small  farms  owned 
by  Germans,  French,  Swiss,  British,  and  some 
Danes^,  Swedes  and  Norwegians ;  even  Indians 
own  much  of  the  land  in  the  south.  But  the 
working-class  throughout  Chile,  in  the  mines,  in 
towns,  on  the  farms,  and,  indeed,  everywhere,  are 
Chilenos.  Chile  is  not  the  place  for  a  British 
or  Continental  workman. 

"  There  is  a  very  well-marked  difference  between 
the  Chileno  inquilino  or  peon  and  the  better  classes, 
whether  Chilean  or  foreign.  But  amongst  the 
Chilean  or  Santiago  aristocracy  one  finds  such 
names  as  Edwards,  Simpson,  Walker,  Rogers  and 
Porter.  These,  of  course,  are  of  British  or  Irish 
descent.  Towards  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  cen- 
tury, many  exceptionally  gifted  foreigners  drifted 
to  Chile.  They  were  educated,  business-like  and 


THE  WOMEN  OF   CHILE          205 

capable  people.  If  one  remembers  that  the  first 
line  of  steamers  to  Europe  only  began  to  run 
some  fifty  years  ago,  it  is  obvious  that  such  men 
should  have  been  able  to  acquire  wealth.  They 
were  respected,  even  liked  and  appreciated,  by  the 
Chilians  of  those  days .  Many  distinguished  them- 
selves in  the  Army  and  Navy.  But  their  de- 
scendants are  pure  Chilenos  now,  and  very  likely 
quite  unable  to  read  or  speak  any  tongue  save 
Spanish.  This  is  not  surprising,  for  one  can  see 
the  process  of  assimilation  going1  on  even  at  the 
present  day. 

"  Any  young  foreigner  who  has  business  instincts 
and  ordinary  common  sense  will,  of  course,  learn  to 
speak  Spanish.  Should  he  possess  the  necessary 
industry  and  talent,  he  may  find  himself  early  in 
life  in  a  position  of  some  importance,  which  in- 
volves dealing  with  the  better-class  Chilenos.  He 
will  in  all  probability  marry  a  Chilean  sefiorita. 
The  truth  is  that  it  is  not  very  easy  to  resist 
a  Chilean  girl  when  she  is  inclined  to  be 
gracious. 

"  She  is  not  at  all  an  advanced  woman  ;  she 
is  not  inclined  to  tyrannize  over  her  husband,  but 
is  quite  content  to  leave  him  to  manage  his  affairs 
and  his  house  as  he  pleases.  She  never  dreams 
of  contesting  his  marital  authority.  It  is  true 
that  she  is  not  very  energetic,  but  then,  is  not 
that  an  agreeable  change? 

"  Our  young  Scotchman's  or  Englishman's 
children  will  be  entirely  Chilean  in  ideals,  in  aspira- 
tion and  in  training.  They  may  be  sent  home  for 


206        ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

education,  but  a  few  months  after  their  return  to 
Chile  no  one  could  distinguish  them  from  the 
Chilean  pur  sang.  The  father  will,  no  doubt,  retain 
a  sentimental  regard  for  the  old  country,  but  in 
Chile  it  is  exceedingly  unlikely  that  he  would  ever 
desire  to  return  permanently  to  the  rain,  snow,  slush 
and  fogs  of  Britain,  where  he  will  be,  not  a  leading 
aristocrat,  but  merely  a  business  man  of  sorts. 

"  But  though  the  somewhat  Frenchified  Chilean 
aristocracy  and  cosmopolitan  foreigners  are  of  in- 
terest, the  really  important  person  is  the  Chileno 
peon,  inquilino  or  huaso  of  the  working  class. 

'  There  is  no  country  in  the  world  which  has  so 
valuable  a  working  class1  (with  the  possible  excep- 
tion of  Japan  and  China).  They  are  descended 
from  the  Araucanian  Indian  and  the  Spanish  Anda- 
lusian  or  the  Basque.  They  are  hardy,  vigorous 
and  excellent  workmen,  and  their  endurance  and 
patience  are  almost  Indian.  Of  their  bravery  and1 
determination  it  is  unnecessary  to  speak,  for  these 
qualities  appear  on  every  page  of  the  stormy  history 
of  Chile.  Generally,  they  are  short,  dark-eyed 
and  black-haired  people.  They  are  intelligent,  and 
quick  to  learn  anything  requiring  handiness  and 
craftsmanship .  They  have,  of  course,  many  faults  : 
at  intervals  they  drink  to  excess  when  they  can, 
and  they  are  hot-blooded  and  quarrelsome  ;  knives 
will  be  drawn  and'  a  fight  started  on  very  small 
provocation.  As  regards  honesty,  they  are  cer- 
tainly no  worse  than  others  of  their  kind,  and  in 
the  country  'districts  they  are  better  than  most. 
Perhaps,  economically  speaking,  the  fact  that  they 


< 


RESOURCES  OF  CHILE  207 

live  and  work  contentedly  on  exceedingly  low  wages 
(chiefly  on  beans)  is  one  of  their  most  important 
characteristics."  l 

Of  the  vineyards  and1  pastures,  the  many  indus- 
tries, the  famous  wines  of  the  country,  the  cattle, 
the  industrious  folk,  the  forests  and  the  fishing, 
the  great  mining  enterprises,  copper  and  all  ore,  the 
rivers  and  the  railways,  the  German  colony  of 
Valdivia  and  the  pleasing  towns  of  the  coast  we 
cannot  here  speak  in  detail. 

Chile  is  fortunate,  industrially,  in  her  great 
coalfields  at  Lota  and  elsewhere  in  the  south,  which 
form  the  basis  of  considerable  industry.  The 
seams  in  some  'cases  dip  beneath  the  Pacific. 

Chile  is  a  land  that  offers  much  by  reason  of 
its  temperate  climate,  and  these  more  southern 
regions  may  be  expected  to  attain  to  greater  im- 
portance in  the  future. 

For  a  thousand  miles,  perhaps,  the  littoral  still 
unfolds  to  the  south,  wtih  great  fiords  and  forests, 
terminating  in  a  maze  of  channels  which  line  the 
coast  of  Patagonia  to  Magellan  Strait  and  Cape 
Horn.  There  is  a  race  of  hardy  Indian  boatmen 
here,  a  tribe  which,  it  is  said,  "  throw  their  women 
overboard  in  a  storm  to  lighten  the  canoe."  It  is 
a  land  coldi  and  stormy,  with  a  little-known  in- 
terior, which  the  early  explorers  described  as  being 
inhabited  by  giants  or  people  with  big  feet— hence 
the -name  of  Patagonia.  For  hundreds  of  miles  the 
Pacific  slope  is  a  thick,  continuous  forest.  Never  - 

*  Chile,  loc.  cit. 


208         ALONG  THE  PACIFIC  COAST 

theless,  in  the  Strait  of  Magellan  lies  a  prosperous 
Chilean  colony,  where  vast  flocks  of  sheep  thrive — 
the  colony  of  Punta  Arenas,  the  world's  southern- 
most seaport. 

Magellan,  the  intrepid  Portuguese  navigator  of 
early  times,  whose  name  the  Strait  bears,  bore 
bravely  out  into  the  great  south  sea  which  he 
named  the  Pacific.  His  crew  were  weak  with 
cold  and  hunger.  But  he  would  push  on,  "  even 
if  they  had  to  eat  the  leather  of  the  rigging." 
Ox-hides,  rats  and  sawdust,  indeed,  they  did  eat. 
On  to  the  west  the  vessels  sailed,  across  the  un- 
known sea—"  almost  beyond  the  grasp  of  man 
for  vastness " — to  circumnavigate  the  globe  for 
home. 

Magellan  himself  did  not  finish  the  voyage, 
although  he  crossed  the  Pacific,  for  his  earthly 
race  was  run ;  he  left  his  bones  in  the  Philippines . 
But  the  ship  and  his  pilot,  Sebastian  del  Cano, 
a  Spaniard,  reached  home,  and  Cano  was  given 
the  arms  of  nobility,  with  the  device  of  a  ship 
and  globe  and  the  inscription  Tu  Solus  circutn- 
dedesti  me. 

From  the  Pacific  coast  we  shall  now  ascend 
to  the  great  chain  of  the  Andes,  to  follow  the 
same  series  of  countries  in  that  high  region. 


CHAPTER    VII 
THE  CORDILLERA  OF  THE   ANDES 

IN    ECUADOR,    PERU    AND    BOLIVIA 

SISTE,  VIATOR  ;  draw  rein  :  your  mule  will  stop 
willingly ;  he  is  stricken  with  soroche  perhaps, 
the  malady  of  the  mountain,  which  you  yourself 
may  suffer  if  at  this  elevation,  where  but  half  an 
atmosphere  presses  upon  us  and  oxygen  is  scant, 
you  attempt  to  run  or  climb.  Draw  rein  upon 
this  summit  and  look  beyond.  There  is  a 
panorama  it  were  worth  a  journey  over  a  hemi- 
sphere to  see.  Range  and  peak  are  clothed  with 
perpetual  snow,  which  gleams  like  porcelain  in 
the  sun. 

Heavenward  thrown,  crumpled,  folded,  ridged 
and  fractured,  with  gnomon -fashioned  uplifts  point- 
ing to  the  sky,  shattered  strata  and  sheer  crevasse, 
natural  terrace  and  grim  escarpment,  hung  over 
with  filmy  mist -veils  and  robed  with  the  white 
clothing  of  its  snowfields,  and,  when  the  windows 
of  heaven  are  open,  drenched  with  the  deluges 
intercepted  from  the  boundless  plains  and  forests 
far  beyond ;  the  father  of  the  rivers  whose  floods 

VOL.  I.  14 


210     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

are  borne  a  thousand  leagues  away  the' Cordillera 
crouches,  rears  and  groans  upon  the  western  sea- 
board of  the  continent.  The  beautiful  Andes,  the 
terrible  Andes,  the  life-giving  Andes,  the  death- 
dealing  Andes — so  we  might  apostrophize  them — : 
for  the  Cordillera  is  of  many  moods,  and  what- 
ever change  of  adjectives  the  traveller  may 
ring,  he  will  fail  of  truly  describing  this  mighty 
chain. 

When  the  delicate  tints  of  early  morning  shine 
on  the  crested  snow  in  rarest  beauty,  and  the  light 
and  tonic  air  invigorates  both  man  and  horse,  the 
leagues  pass  swiftly  by.  Night  falls,  or  the  snow- 
cloud  gathers,  or  the  pelting  rain  descends ;  then 
does  the  weight  of  weariness  and  melancholy 
descend  upon  us  *—  so  have  I  felt  it. 

The  name  of  the  Andes,  to  the  traveller  who 
has  crossed  the  giddy  passes  and  scaled  the  high 
peaks  of  this  stupendous  mountain  chain,  brings 
back  sensations  which  are  a  blend  of  the  pleasurable 
and  the  painful.  In  his  retrospect  the  Cordillera 
— for  such  is  its  familiar  name  to  the  inhabitants 
of  the  land  it  traverses — bulks  as  a  thing  of  varied 
and  almost  indescribable  moods.  It  possesses  that 
individuality — menacing,  beautiful  by  turns— which 
no  doubt  is  an  attribute  of  all  mountains,  in  the 
recollection  of  those  who  best  know  them. 

The  Andes  are  no  playground,  such  as  some  of 
the  mountains  of  Europe  have  become,  nor  are 
they  the  object  or  scene  of  climbing  enterprise 
and  exploration  such  as  bring  the  Himalayas  so 

1  The  Author's  The  Andes  and  the  Amazon. 


THE  HIGHLANDS  211 

frequently  before  the  geographically  interested 
public.  Comparatively  simple  in  their  structure, 
it  is  their  enormous  length — a  wall  unbroken, 
extending  for  four  thousand  miles  from  north  to 
south  along  the  western  littoral  of  their  continent — 
their  treeless  aridity,  their  illimitable,  dreary, 
inclement  uplands,  and,  these  passed,  their  chaste 
snowy  peaks,  tinged  by  the  rising1  or  the  setting 
sun,  that  most  impress  the  traveller  in  those  lands 
they  traverse. 

Here  in  the  higher  elevations  of  these  rerriote 
fastnesses  there  are  no  material  comforts  for  man 
or  beast.  Humanity,  as  far  as  it  has  the  hardi- 
hood to  dwell  here,  is  confined  to  the  Indian  or 
the  mestizo,  who  has  paid  nature  the  homage  of 
being  born  here,  and  so  can  dwell  and  work  in 
what  is  his  native  environment.  In  the  more 
sheltered  valleys  it  is  true  that  large  centres  of 
population  flourish ;  important  towns  which  from 
their  elevation  above  sea-level— ten  thousand  or 
twelve  thousand  feet— might  look  down  as  it  were 
from  a  dizzy  height  upon  the  highest  inhabited 
centres  of  Europe ;  whilst,  did  we  establish  in- 
dustrious mining  communities  on  the  peak  of  the 
Matterhorn  or  Mont  Blanc,  we  should  still  be  far 
below  some  of  those  places  of  the  Peruvian  and 
Bolivian  Andes  where  minerals  are  won  for  the 
marts  of  Europe. 

The  Andes  consist  physiographically  of  two 
great  parallel  chains,  forming  into  three,  with 
lesser  parallel  undulations,  in  certain  parts  of  its 
course  ;  the  ranges  being  joined  by  nudos  or  knots, 


212      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

as  the  transversal  ridges  are  termed ;  a  very  well 
marked  structure.  In  places  vast  tablelands  lie 
between  the  high  paramos  of  Colombia,  the 
altiplanicies  of  Peru,  the  punas  of  Bolivia,  often 
studded  with  lakes,  including  the  enormous  Lake 
Titicaca.  In  some  cases  these  high  uplands 
between  the  enclosing  Cordilleras  are  indeed  dreary 
and  inclement,  sparsely  inhabited,  and  the  dweller 
of  the  lowlands  loves  not  to  sojourn  there  longer 
than  may  be  necessary  for  his  purpose.  Con- 
versely, the  highlander  fears  the  enervating  climate 
of  the  lowlands. 

Between  the  more  easterly  paralleling  ranges 
great  rivers  run,  having  their  birth  in  the  snow- 
cap  and  incessant  rains,  both  of  which  are  the 
result  of  the  deposition  from  the  moisture -laden 
trade  winds  which,  sweeping  across  the  Atlantic 
and  Brazil  for  thousands  of  miles,  are  intercepted 
by  the  crest  of  the  Cordillera,  impinging  thereon 
and  depositing  their  moisture.  Running  down  the 
easterly  slope,  in  a  thousand  rills,  the  waters 
gather  in  the  giant  channels,  all  flowing  north- 
wards, in  the  troughs  between  the  ranges,  to  where, 
with  curious  regularity,  they  break  through  these 
ranges  in  deep  cuttings  or  pongos,  as  they  are 
there  termed,  like  gargantuan  mill-races,  turning 
thus  east  and  pouring  forth  their  floods  upon  the 
Amazon  plain,  where,  after  vast  courses  amid  the 
forests,  they  reach  the  main  stream  of  the  Amazon, 
and  finally  empty  themselves  on  the  coast  of  Brazil 
into  the  Atlantic,  whence  they  originally  came  upon 
the  wings  of  the  wind — a  mighty  natural  hydraulic 


MOUNTAIN  BEAUTY  213 

engine,  unceasing  in  its  operations,  stupendous  in 
its  work .     Yes  ;  Siste,  viator,  draw  rein — 

Hast  thou  entered  the  treasures  of  the  snow  ? 
Or  hast  thou  seen  the  treasuries  of  the  hail  ? 
Who  hath  cleft  a  channel  for  the  water-flood  ? 
Dost  thou  know  the  balancings  of  the  clouds  ? 

The  imprint  of  the  Andes  perhaps  never  fades 
from  the  mind  of  the  traveller.  When  you  have 
braved  the  tempest  and  the  steep,  when  your  slow 
and  panting  beast  overcomes  the  last  few  rising 
yards  upon  the  maritime  range  that  shuts  off  from 
view  the  White  Cordillera,  then,  as  the  dark  horizon 
of  the  foreground  rocks  gives  place,  your  aston- 
ished gaze  rests  upon  that  range  of  white -clothed 
sentinels  beyond,  upraised  some  time  since  the 
Jurassic  or  Silurian  Ages.  There  they  mark  the 
eras  :  there  they  stand,  performing  their  silent  and 
allotted  work  ;  and  there,  when  evening  falls,  it 
tints  their  brows  with  orange  and  with  carmine, 
and  wraps  their  bases  with  the  purple  pall  of 
finished  day. 

Borne  upward  three  to  five  miles  above  the  level 
of  the  ocean  arose  these  mighty  guardians  of  the 
western  shore,  carrying  some  ocean  bed  from  where 
it  lay,  where  strange  creatures  of  the  deep  reposed 
within  the  ooze — huge  ammonites  and  cephalopods, 
whose  fossil  scrolls  and  circles,  now  petrified  in 
rigid  schools  upon  the  stiffened  summits,  catch  the 
traveller's  eye  as  his  weary  mule  stumbles  over 
the  limestone  ridges  :  and,  blurred  by  the  pelting 
rain  of  the  Andine  winter  and  loosened  from  the 


stony  grasp  by  frost  and  sun  and  earthquake,  they, 
together  with  the  rocky  walls  that  hold  them,  are 
again  dissolving  into  particles  ;  a  phase  within  the 
endless  sequence  of  Nature's  work ;  an  accident 
of  her  ceaseless  and  inexplicable  operations. 

'Has  this  great  Cordillera  produced  a  high  type 
of  humanity?  Has  the  clear  atmosphere,  the 
nearer  approach  to  the  clouds,  the  purity  and 
example  of  the  heights  made  man  here  pure  and 
noble?  We  shall  judge  later,  after  viewing  the 
palimpsest  of  history  here,  following  on  the 
palimpsest  of  Nature,  for  the  Cordillera  is  a 
scroll  of  time,  erased,  rewritten  in  the  physical 
and  in  the  human  world.  The  Andes  have  been 
blood-stained  along  all  their  four-thousand-mile 
course,  that  we  know,  ever  since  the  white  man 
trod  them.  We  also  know  that  before  his  time 
the  Cordillera  did  produce  a  high  human  culture, 
that  of  the  mysterious  "  Andine  people,"  with  their 
successors,  the  Incas.  Pagan,  perhaps,  but  who, 
in  the  long  ages,  had  evolved  some  comprehension 
of  the  "  Unknown  God,"  and  whose  social  code  was 
more  in  tune  with  a  true  economic  philosophy  of 
life  than  that  of  their  successors. 

Descending  now  from  the  clouds,  metaphorically 
and  actually,  we  must  glance  more  particularly 
at  the  life  of  those  modern  countries  which  have 
in  part  their  home  in  the  Cordillera,  to  whom  the 
Cordillera  is  a  very  real  and  palpable  thing. 

From  north  to  south,  Colombia,  Venezuela, 
Ecuador,  Peru,  Bolivia  and  Chile  occupy  this 
extensive  zone  :  countries  whose  general  conditions 


MOUNTAINS  OF  ECUADOR         215 

as  regards  the  littoral  we  have  seen  in  our  journey 
along  the  Pacific  coast.  Excepting  Bolivia,  all 
these  lands  have  the  advantages  accruing  from  the 
condition  that  they  stretch  from1  the  coast  across 
the  Andes,  extending  to  the  Amazon  plains 
beyond  ;  thus  enjoying  zones  respectively  of  coast, 
mountain  and  forest,  with  all  their  diversity  of 
environment,  climate  and  resource. 

As  we  shall  see  in  the  chapter  devoted  to  the 
Amazon  Valley,  many  navigable  streams  traverse 
this  forested  region,  giving  access  by  launch  or 
canoe  through  thousands  of  miles  of  otherwise 
inaccessible  territory,  for  roads  are  often  impossible 
and  of  railways  there  are  none. 

Colombia  we  shall  visit  in  another  chapter. 
Both  Colombia  and  Venezuela  lie  in  part  upon 
the  Andes  and  face  upon  the  Spanish  Main. 

Ecuador  is  but  a  small  country  in  comparison 
with  the  vaster  areas  of  its  neighbours,  but  Nature 
has  rendered  it  extremely  diverse,  and  has  dowered 
it — it  is  a  terrible  gift,  however — with  some  of 
the  most  remarkable  mountain  forms  on  the  face 
of  the  globe.  Nothing  can  exceed  the  stupendous 
grandeur  of  the  great  "  avenue "  of  snow-clad 
volcanoes  which  arises  before  us  around  Quito  and 
terminates  on  the  Equator. 

In  Ecuador  Nature  might  seem  to  have  thought 
to  display  her  powers  after  the  manner  of  a  model, 
with  every  grade  of  climate,  topographical  form 
and  species  of  plant  and  animal  life ;  to  have 
set  up,  within  a  measurable  compass,  an  example 
of  her  powers  in  the  tropical  world.  The  hot 


216      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

lowlands  of  the  coast,  covered  in  part  with  the 
densest  and  rankest  vegetation,  intersected  by  the 
most  fertile  of  valleys,  where  ripen  the  most 
delicious  and  valuable  fruits,  with  rivers  wherein 
the  curious  life  of  the  Tropics  has  its  home,  from 
gorgeous  insect  or  bird  down  to  the  tortoise  and 
the  loathly  alligator,  slope  upwards  to  the  bleakest 
tablelands,  the  icy  paramos,  which  themselves  are 
crowned  with  the  snow-capped  volcanoes,  at  times 
belching  forth  fire  and  ash,  carrying  destruction 
to  fruitful  field  and  populous  town.  Beyond  lies 
some  of  the  most  broken  region  on  the  earth's 
surface,  descending  to  the  forests  inhabited  by 
the  half-naked  and  savage  Indian,  still  outside  the 
pale  of  civilization  or  the  influence  of  Christianity, 
who  may  receive  the  incautious  traveller  with 
deadly  weapons  of  blow-pipe  and  poisoned  arrows. 
The  uplands  of  Ecuador  embody  a  high  table- 
land, cut  up  into  three  hoyas  or  basins,  known  as 
those  of  Quito,  Ambato  and  Cuenca  respectively. 

"  Rising  from  both  the  eastern  and  western  rims 
of  this  elevated  plateau  are  the  higher  Cordilleras, 
their  main  summits  culminating  far  above  the  per- 
petual snowline,  which  in  Ecuador  lies  at  about 
15,750  feet  above  sea -level.  As  before  remarked, 
due  to  their  peculiarly  symmetrical  arrangement 
and  spectacular  appearance,  such  an  assemblage 
of  snow-clad  peaks  is  not  found  in  any  other  part 
of  the  world.  Not  only  for  their  height  are  the 
Ecuadorian  peaks  noteworthy,  but  for  their  peculiar 
occurrence  in  parallel  lines,  sometimes  in  pairs 


THE  GREAT  VOLCANOES          217 

facing  each  other  across  the  '  cyclopean  passage  ' 
or  avenue  formed  by  the  long  plateau.  There 
are  twenty -two  of  these  great  peaks,  several  of 
which  are  actual  volcanoes,  grouped  along  the 
central  plains  almost  within  sight  of  each  other. 
Built  up  by  subterranean  fires,  the  great  mountain 
edifices  of  Ecuador  are  sculptured  by  glacier 
streams  and  perpetual  snows.  The  volcanoes  of 
Ecuador  have  rendered  the  country  famous  among 
geologists  and  travellers  of  all  nationalities.  They 
were  the  terror  of  the  primitive  Indian,  and  objects 
of  awe  and  worship  by  the  semi-civilized  peoples 
of  the  land,  and  have  been  at  various  periods 
terrible  scourges  and  engines  of  destruction. 

"  The  largest  number  of  high  peaks  and  the 
greatest  average  elevations  occur  upon  the  eastern 
Andes,  or  Cordillera  Oriental,  whilst  the  western 
or  Occidental  is  distinguished  by  having  the 
highest  individual  elevations.  The  altitudes  given 
by  various  authorities  of  these  peaks  differ  some- 
what, and  the  measurements  of  later  investigators 
vary  considerably  from  those  of  Humboldt  in 
some  cases.  Humboldt  was  the  first  to  study  and 
measure  the  Ecuadorian  volcanoes,  and  La  Con- 
damine  measured  them  in  1 7  4*2 .  The  more 
modern  investigators  were  Drs.  Reiss  and  Stiibel, 
who  spent  four  years,  from  1870  to  1874,  in  the 
study,  and  in  1880  they  were  the  subject  of 
Edward  Whymper's  famous  travels.  The  alleged 
remarkable  condition  of  the  sinking  or  rising  of 
various  of  these  summits  and  localities  may 
account,  it  has  been  stated,  for  the  variation  found 


218     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

in  measurements  made  at  different  times.  It  has 
been  estimated  that  a  considerable  decrease  in  the 
elevation  of  the  Ecuadorian  Andes  in  the  region 
took  place  during  last  century.  Quito  has  sunk, 
it  is  stated,  26  feet  in  122  years,  and  Pichincha 
218  feet  in  the  same  period.  The  farm  at 
Antisana,  where  Humboldt  lived  for  some  time, 
has  sunk  165  feet  in  sixty -four  years.  On  the 
other  hand,  two  of  the  active  volcanoes,  those  of 
Cotopaxi  and  Sangay,  have  increased  in  altitude 
since  they  were  measured  by  La  Condamine,  it 
is  asserted.  Underlying  seismic  disturbances  have 
doubtless  been  the  cause  of  these  movements."1 

The  highest  of  these  peaks  is  Chimborazo, 
20,498  feet,  followed  by  Cotopaxi,  19,613  feet, 
Antisana  and  Cayambe,  both  over  19,000  feet, 
with  others  ranging  downwards  to  about  14,000 
feet. 

"  The  great  Cotopaxi,  with  its  unrivalled  cone, 
is  the  most  terrible  and  dangerous  in  Ecuador, 
and  the  highest  active  volcano  in  the  world. 
From  its  summit  smoke  curls  upwards  unceasingly, 
and  knowledge  of  its  activities  begins  with  South 
American  history  after  the  Conquest.  The  first 
eruption  experienced  by  the  Spaniards  was  in 
1534,  during  the  attempted  conquest  of  the 
ancient  native  kingdom  of  Quito  by  Alvarado. 
The  Indians  regarded  the  terrible  outpourings  of 
the  volcano,  which  coincided  with  this  foreign 
1  Ecuador,  loc.  cit. 


THE  DREADED   COTOPAXI         219 

advent,   as   a  manifestation   of  Nature  in   aid  of 
the  invaders  and  against  themselves,  and  this  was 
a  factor  in  breaking  down  their  opposition.     But 
the    rain    of    ashes    from    the    burning    mountain 
greatly  troubled  the  small  army  of  Alvarado  for 
several  days,  as  before  described.     After  this  out- 
burst Cotopaxi  remained  quiescent  for  more  than 
two  hundred  years,  until   1741,  when  it  broke  out 
with  extraordinary  force,  and  became  for  twenty- 
six  years  the  scourge  of  the  districts  of  Quito  and 
Latacunga.    The  province  of  Leon  and  Latacunga, 
which  formerly  had  been  among  the  most  beautiful 
and  fertile,  became  poverty-stricken  by  reason  of 
the  eruptions.   These  outbreaks  generally  consisted 
in  a  great  rain  of  sand  and  ash,  followed  by  vast 
quantities  of  mud  and  water,  which  were  thrown 
over  the  valleys  and  plains,  destroying  whatever 
lay  in  the  way.     Between   1742  and   1768  there 
were  seven  great  eruptions  of  this  character,  and 
it  is  noteworthy  that  none  of  these  were  accom- 
panied  by    earthquakes.      The   thunderings   were 
heard  at  Honda,  in  Colombia,    500  miles  away, 
it  is  recorded.     Cotopaxi  then  remained  quiescent 
for  thirty-five  years,  until   1803,  when  Humboldt 
(heard  the    detonations   of    a   new   outbreak,   like 
discharges  of  a  battery,  from  the  Gulf  of  Guaya- 
quil, where  he  was  on  board  a  vessel  for  Lima. 
A  number  of  lesser  outbreaks  occurred  during  the 
nineteenth  century,  but  comparatively  little  record 
ihas  been  kept  of  them.     There  were  streams  of 
fresh  lava,  columns  of  black  smoke,  and  showers 
of  sand  sent  forth  at  various  periods,  and  in  1877 


220     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

a  further  memorable  eruption  took  place,  followed 
by  others  up  to  1880.  It  would  appear  that  since 
the  volcano  of  Tunguragua  entered  again  into 
action  Cotopaxi  has  been  less  vigorous.  Cotopaxi 
is  regarded  by  various  travellers  as  one  of  the 
most  beautiful  mountain  peaks  in  the  world,  its 
symmetry  of  outline  rivalling  the  famous  Fuji-yama 
of  Japan,  which  it  overtops  by  more  than  7,000 
feet.  This  Ecuadorian  volcano  is  2,000  feet 
higher  than  Popocateptl,  the  "  smoking  mountain  " 
of  Mexico,  and  more  than  i  5,000  feet  higher  than 
Vesuvius,  and  7,000  higher  than  TenerifFe.  It 
rises  in  a  symmetrical  cone,  with  a  slope  of  29° 
or  30°.  Its  height,  as  before  given,  is  19,613, 
according  to  Whymper,  and  the  crater  varies  from 
2,300  feet  to  1,650  feet  in  diameter,  and  is  1,200 
feet  deep  approximately,  bordered  by  a  rim  of 
trachytic  rock.  The  summit  of  Cotopaxi  is 
generally  shrouded  in  cloud  masses,  and  only 
visible  for  a  few  days  even  in  the  clearest  season 
of  the  year."  * 

This  high  region  of  Ecuador  is  gained  by  the 
railway  from  Guayaquil  to  Quito,  which  ascends 
amid  some  remarkable  scenery  over  a  difficult 
route,  traversing  deep  ravines  and  fertile  districts. 
Some  of  the  passages  are  terrific  in  character. 

"  Riobamba  is  reached  at  9,020  feet.  The  town 
is  lighted  from  a  hydro-electric  station  in  the 
mountain  stream.  Beyond  this  point  Chimborazo 

1  Ecuador,  loc.  cit. 


CHIMBORAZO  221 

bursts  upon  the  view.  The  great  mountain  displays 
a  double  peak,  the  snow -clad  crests  of  which  are 
outlined  against  the  upland  sky,  at  those  times 
when  the  firmament  is  free  from  clouds.  The 
plateau  of  Riobamba  has  a  healthy  climate,  de- 
scribed, on  the  authority  of  Humboldt,  as  one  of 
the  best  in  the  world.  In  this  region  a  considerable 
increase  in  the  production  of  wheat  has  followed 
upon  the  building  of  the  railway. 

"  Between  Riobamba  and  Ambato  the  Chim- 
borazo  pass  is  crossed,  at  Urbina,  the  highest  point 
reached,  and  thence  a  rapid  descent  is  made  to 
Ambato,  8,435  feet>  m  me  midst  of  a  district 
producing  fruits  and  foodstuffs  abundantly.  Along 
the  Latacunga  Valley,  comparatively  flat  and  some 
ten  miles  wide,  rich  pastures,  intersected  by  irri- 
gation ditches,  abound,  with  numerous  bands  of 
cattle  and  horses.  Grain,  com,  potatoes,  alfalfa, 
apples,  peaches,  strawberries,  etc.,  are  products  of 
this  high  fertile  district,  and  good  cheese  and 
butter  are  made.  Beyond  the  town  of  Latacunga, 
9,055  feet  elevation,  the  line  crosses  the  base  of 
Cotopaxi,  whose  snowy  cone  is  surmounted  by  the 
thin,  unceasing  smoke  wreath  from  its  crater,  the 
cloud  hanging  in  the  atmosphere.  This  point  of 
the  line  is  11,653  feet  above  sea-level,  only 
slightly  less  than  that  of  the  Chimborazo  pass. 
Beyond  Cotopaxi  lies  the  fertile  valley  of  Machachi, 
one  of  the  most  pleasing  districts  in  Ecuador.  On 
either  hand  is  the  row  of  famous  volcanoes,  a 
mighty  avenue  of  great  peaks,  often  clothed  in 
green  up  to  the  line  of  perpetual  snow.  A  view 


222     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

is  obtained  from  the  railway  of  the  Chillo  Valley, 
with  various  cotton  and  woollen  mills,  actuated  by 
water  power.  In  these  establishments,  hydrauli- 
cally  worked  from  the  river,  cloths  of  cheap 
character  for  native  clothing  are  made.  Still 
descending,  the  railway  approaches  and  enters  the 
city  of  Quito  at  9,375  feet  elevation. 

"  The  construction  of  this  remarkable  railway 
from  Guayaquil  to  Quito  was  mainly  due  to  the  acti- 
vity and  enterprise  of  an  American  financier  and 
railway  builder,  Mr.  Archer  Harman,  whose  work 
in  connection  with  which  began  in  1897.  The 
line  remains  as  a  worthy  monument  to  this  man, 
whose  grave  lies  at  the  pretty  town  of  Huigra. 
A  strong  impulse  was  given  to  the  progress  of 
Ecuador  by  the  building  of  this  railway  and  by 
the  influence  of  its  builder,  and  the  Republic  has 
cause  to  remember  his  name  with  gratitude,  as 
indeed  has  the  traveller. 

"Quito,  the  capital  of  Ecuador,  is  not  without 
an  atmosphere  of  interest  and  even  romance. 
Remote  and  inaccessible  as  it  has  been  until,  in 
the  last  few  decades,  the  railway  united  it  with 
the  outer  world,  Quito  still  conserves  its  character 
of  a  mountain  capital,  surrounded  by  lofty  snow- 
clad  volcanoes,  whose  names  are  bywords  in 
geography.  There  are  many  large  towns  in  the 
Andes,  throughout  Peru,  Colombia,  Bolivia  and 
Venezuela,  but  both  by  reason  of  its  history  and 
its  topography  the  capital  of  Ecuador  is  among' 
the  most  interesting.  The  Quito  Valley  lies  at  an 
elevation  of  9,500  feet  above  sea -level.  Around 


QUITO  223 

the  upland  valley  are  twenty  noble  volcanic 
summits,  whose  variety  of  form  is  remarkable, 
from  the  truncated  to  the  perfect  cone,  from  jagged 
and  sunken  crests  to  smooth,  snow-covered,  gleam- 
ing domes,  among  them  the  beautiful,  if  dreaded, 
Cotopaxi.  These  mountains  are  fully  described 
in  dealing  with  the  peaks  and  volcanoes. 

"  The  historical  interest  of  Quito  lies  in  the  fact 
that  it  was  the  ancient  centre  of  the  Shiri  Empire, 
formed  by  the  mysterious  Caras  and  the  Quitus, 
as  described  in  the  historical  section  of  this  work, 
whose  dynasty  fell  before  the  Incas  under  Huayna 
Capac,  who  in  their  turn  gave  way  to  ,the  Spaniards . 
The  famous  Inca  road,  traversing  the  Cordilleras 
and  tablelands,  joined  Quito  with  Cuzco,  passing 
through  the  various  centres  of  Inca  civilization, 
with  their  stone -built  temples  and  palaces,  flanked 
by  hill  fortresses  which  guarded  the  heads  of  the 
valleys  to  the  east  or  the  west  against  the  attacks 
of  savage  tribes.  The  remains  of  this  road  still 
exist . 

"  As  regards  the  character  of  the  climate  and 
surroundings  of  Quito,  opinions  differ  considerably. 
It  is  difficult  to  comprehend  why  the  Shiris  and 
the  Incas  should  have  built  or  maintained  their 
capital  city  upon  such  a  spot,  a  small,  broken 
meseta,  or  plain,  as  is  that  of  Quito,  or  why  the 
Spaniards  perpetuated  it  upon  a  site  of  so  little 
advantage  and  utility,  when  near  at  hand  are  the 
flat  lands  of  Turubamba  and  Anaquito,  and  not 
very  far  off  the  spacious  and  delightful  valleys 
of  Chillo  and  Tumbaco.  Of  all  the  towns  on  the 


224      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

inter -Andine  hoyas  Quito  is  the  highest  and  coldest . 
The  surrounding  vegetation  is  poor  and  of  melan- 
choly aspect,  and  corresponds  with  the  inclement 
situation.  The  position  is  healthy  and  even  agree- 
able for  those  who  are  acclimatized  thereto,  but 
the  descriptions  lavished  by  some  writers  thereon 
of  '  delicious  '  and  of  '  eternal  spring '  are  exag- 
gerations, says  one  observer.1  Another  authority 
says  that  '  the  traveller  is  charmed  in  looking  at 
the  carpet  of  perpetual  verdancy  on  which  Quito 
stands.  The  climate  is  delightful.  It  is  neither 
summer  nor  spring  nor  winter,  but  each  day  of 
the  year  offers  a  singular  combination  of  the  three 
seasons.  Neither  cholera  nor  yellow  fever  nor 
consumption  is  known  there .  The  mild  and  healthy 
temperature  which  prevails  is  something  admirable . 
In  short,  it  may  be  said  that  the  great  plateau  of 
Quito  is  a  kind1  of  paradise.' 2  Thus  extremes 
of  opinion  are  seen  to  exist. 

"  The  annual  death-rate  of  Quito  is  given  as 
about  36  per  1,000,3  but  this  might  undoubtedly 
be  reduced  under  better  sanitary  measures.  It  is  a 
well-known  circumstance  that  the  high  upland 
regions  and  towns  of  the  Andes  are  generally  free 
from  pulmonary  consumption,  and  tubercular 
disease  of  the  lungs,  which  on  the  coastal  low- 
lands of  tropical  America  is  very  frequent,  is 
unknown  above  8,000  feet. 

"  The  aspect  of  Quito  is  picturesque.  The  first 
impression  is  that  of  a  white  city,  relieved  by  roofs 

*  Wolf.  *  Professor  Orton  of  New  York. 

3  Bulletin  of  the  Bureau  of  American  Republics,  Washington. 


QUITO  225 

of  red  tiles,  the  streets  thronged  with  interesting 
people.  As  seen  from  the  slopes  of  Pichincha, 
which  descend  to  the  city  on  its  western  side,  or 
from  the  summit  of  the  Panecillo,  a  small  hill 
standing  within  the  borders  of  the  city,  or  from' 
other  high  points  near  at  hand,  the  city  unfolds 
pleasingly  to  the  view.  It  may  be  likened  to  a 
city  of  the  third  order  in  Europe.  In  spite  of 
the  broken  character  of  the  land  upon  which  it 
is  built,  the  streets  are  nearly  all  straight,  the 
principal  thoroughfares  being  wide  and  paved.  It 
is  traversed  from  west  to  east  by  two  deep  que- 
bradas,  or  ravines,  which  descend  from  Pichincha 
and  other  hills,  and  one  of  these  is  arched 
over  in  order  to  preserve  the  alignment  of  the 
streets.  The  city  follows  the  general  Latin 
American  system'  of  town-planning,  being  laid  out 
mainly  in  great  rectangular  squares,  the  streets 
at  right  angles  to  each  other.  The  architectural 
type  of  the  houses  is  that  embodying  the  old 
Spanish  or  Moorish  style,  well  known  to  the 
traveller  in  Latin  America,  from  Mexico  to  Peru 
or  Argentina  :  the  picturesque  and  often  chaste 
character  of  fagade  (although  some  may  term  it 
monotonous),  with  iron  grilles  before  the  windows 
and  high,  wide  entrance  doorway,  or  saguan, 
admitting  a  mounted  horseman.  The  main  feature 
of  the  house  of  this  type  is  the  interior  patio,  or 
courtyard,  upon  which  the  rooms  open,  often 
followed  by  a  second  patio .  The  material  of  which 
the  houses  are  constructed  is  adobe,  or  sun-dried! 
earthern  brick,  which  in  the  dwellings  of  more 

VOL.   I.  15 


226     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

pretension  are  generally  covered  with  stucco  or 
plaster,  whitened,  and  at  times  painted  with  vivid 
colours.  Stone  is  also  used.  The  use  of  colour 
pn  the  walls  of  houses  in  Latin  American  towns 
gives  a  picturesque  appearance  at  times  even  to 
the  meanest  pueblo,  and  relieves  what  might  often 
be  an  extreme  poverty  of  appearance.  The  roofs 
of  the  Quito  houses  often  project  over  the  foot- 
paths, affording  protection  from  rain,  and  balconies 
overhang  from  every  window. 

"  The  public  buildings  of  Quito  are  of  the 
heavy,  square,  colonial  Spanish  type.  Looking 
upon  the  great  square,  or  plaza  mayor,  occupying 
the  whole  of  its  southern  side,  is  the  cathedral, 
and  on  the  western  side  the  Government  palace, 
with  a  handsome  fagade,  whose  main  feature  is 
its  long  row  of  columns.  On  the  north  side  of 
the  plaza  is  the  palace  of  the  Archbishop,  and  on 
the  east  the  municipal  hall.  This  arrangement, 
with  some  modification,  is  one  encountered  in 
nearly  all  Latin  American  capitals,  wherein  are 
grouped  upon  the  plaza  the  principal  edifices  of 
Church  and  State,  the  former  taking  the  place  of 
honour.  The  arrangement  is  generally  a  pleasing 
and  useful  one.  The  plaza  is  the  pulse  of  the 
community,  and  during  those  times  when  the  band 
plays  in  its  garden  it  forms  a  meeting-ground  for 
the  people  and  the  sexes.  There  are  other  smaller 
plazas  and  subsidiary  squares  in  the  city,  including 
those  of  San  Francisco  and  Santo  Domingo.  The 
many  ecclesiastical  buildings  are  an  indication  of 
the  part  which  the  Church  has  played.  The  finest 


QUITO  227 

building  in  the  city  is  the  Jesuits'  church,  with 
a  facade  elaborately  carved,  and  the  university 
occupies  part  of  what  formerly  was  the  Jesuit 
college.  There  are  eleven  monastic  institutions, 
six  of  which  are  nunneries.  One  of  the  convents, 
that  of  San  Francisco,  covers  a  whole  cuadra  or 
block,  and  takes  its  place  as  one  of  the  largest 
institutions  of  this  nature  in  the  world.  A  part 
of  this  great  building  is  in  ruins,  and  another  part 
has  been  used  for  the  purpose  of  a  military  barracks 
by  the  Government.  The  university  has  faculties 
of  law,  medicine  and  theology — those  three  pro- 
fessions which  appeal  so  strongly  to  the  Latin 
American  character ;  but  the  institution  is  re- 
garded as  backward,  and  it  has  been  but  poorly 
supported . 

"  The  commerce  of  Quito  is  small :  there  is 
little  produced  in  so  high  a  region  for  export. 
Superior  hand-made  carpets  are  woven,  and  much 
skill  is  shown  in  wood-carving  and  in  gold  and  silver 
work.  These  industries  were  often  characteristic 
of  the  ancient  people  of  America,  and  weaving 
was  essentially  a  widely  practised  craft  among  the 
Andine  races.  The  beautiful  textile  fabrics  of 
the  Incas  and  pre-Incas,  some  of  them  probably 
thousands  of  years  old,  which  have  been  preserved 
attest  the  taste  and  skill  of  these  people.  The 
native  manufactures  of  Quito  include  ponchos, 
blankets,  mattings  and  coarse  woollen  carpets,  also 
tanned  leather,  saddles  and  shoes.  There  is  a 
tendency  among  all  the  Andine  people  to  preserve 
their  interesting  home -crafts  and  cottage  industries, 


which  a   wise,   economic   spirit  would  endeavour 
to  assist.     But  cheap  imports  menace  them. 

"  The  streets  of  Quito  are  thronged  from  mom- 
ing  to  evening  with  horses,  mules,  donkeys  and 
oxen,  also  llamas,  with  loads  of  all  kinds,  and 
ladies  in  victorias  drive  about,  or  to  the  shops, 
which  are  replete  with  merchandise  from  London, 
Paris,  New  York,  Vienna  or  Berlin.  Officers  in 
regimentals  and  gentlemen  in  top-hats  and  frock- 
coats  are  numerous,  and  Indians  with  red  and 
yellow  ponchos  and  white  cotton  trousers  and  hats. 
But  as  regards  modern  conveniences  Quito  is 
backward,  and  the  lack  of  hotels  and  public 
hygiene  is  very  serious,  and  the  general  conditions 
surrounding  public  health  call  for  urgent  improve- 
ment."1'2 

The  Ecuadorian  "  Orient,"  as  the  eastern 
forested  region  is  termed,  is,  as  has  been  said,  the 
third  natural  division  of  the  country,  and  a  maze 
of  rivers  flow  to  it  from  the  divortia  aquarum  of 
the  Cordillera.  The  boundary -line  with  Peru, 
Ecuador's  neighbour  on  the  south,  is  in  dispute, 
notwithstanding  arbitration  by  the  King  of  Spain 
in  recent  years.  The  relations  between  the  two 
nations  have  been  seriously  embittered  by  reason 
of  this  controversy.  Ecuador  is,  in  point  of  popu- 
lation, the  weaker  nation  :  perhaps  her  claims  have 
not  been  considered  in  a  sufficiently  generous  spirit. 

1  A  recent  London  traveller  summed  up  his  impressions  of 
Quito  as  "a  city  of  seventy  churches  and  one  bath."  But 
there  has  been  some  improvement  since. 

1  Ecuador,  loc.  cit. 


ECUADOR  229 

The  law  of  uti  possidetis  alone  holds.  But  an 
outlet  to  the  great  navigable  affluents  of  the 
Amazon  is  a  .question  of  paramount  importance 
in  this  forested  region,  cut  off  as  it  is  from  the 
Pacific  by  the  huge  rampart  of  the  Andes,  and — 
without  prejudice  to  the  historical  aspects  of  the 
boundary  question — this  matter  should  receive 
full  consideration.  The  Orient,  although  an 
undeveloped  and  little -travelled  region  at  present, 
must,  in  the  future,  be  of  great  value.  Peru 
enjoys  a  vast  territory  in  the  same  zone,  and  could 
well  afford  to  take  a  generous  outlook  upon  the 
wishes  of  her  neighbour,  thereby  healing  ancient 
quarrels  and  laying  the  foundation  of  future  inter- 
national stability  and  friendship. 

We  shall  tread  this  region  again  in  the  chapter 
dealing  with  the  Amazon. 

The  upland  region  of  the  Cordillera  between 
Ecuador  and  Peru,  little  known  to-day,  was  the 
scene  of  bitter  struggles  between  the  Incas — under 
Tupac  Yupanqui  and  his  son  Huayna  Capac,  both 
famous  princes  of  the  Inca  dynasty — and  the  Shiris, 
of  the  empire  or  kingdom  of  Quito,  which  the 
Incas  wished  to  subjugate. 

Cacha  Duchisela,  whose  armies  had  beaten  off 
the  Inca  attacks — he  was  the  fifteenth  and  last  of 
the  Shiri  Kings  of  Quito — was  rapidly  declining 
in  health.  "But  his  mind  did  not  share  the  ills 
of  his  body,  and  he  formulated  careful  plans  for 
the  organization  of  his  forces,  which,  under  Cali- 
cuchima,  were  carried  out.  Amid  the  snowy 
heights  of  Azuay  the  vanguard  of  the  Puruhaes 


230      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

detained  for  long  the  onward  march  of  the  Inca 
forces.  But,  aided  by  the  Canaris,  the  Peruvians 
opened  a  way,  and  upon  the  bleak  and  melancholy 
paramos  of  Tiocajas,  where  years  before  their 
fathers  had  fought,  battle  was  again  waged,  and 
with  the  same  fatal  result  for  the  forces  of  the 
Shiri.  Completely  defeated,  Cacha  retired  upon 
the  fortress  of  Mocha,  as  his  father  Hualcopo  had 
done ;  but,  still  more  unfortunate,  Cacha  could 
not  prevent  the  advance  of  the  Incas.  Having 
lost  almost  all  his  army,  not  so  much  by  death  as 
by  desertion  and  disaffection,  Cacha  was  forced 
to  abandon  the  provinces  of  Mocha,  Ambato, 
Latacunga,  and  Quito,  which  seemed  insecure,  and 
to  pass  to  the  northern  provinces.  Followed  by 
the  Inca,  he  first  fortified  himself  at  Cochasqui 
and  then  at  Otalvo.1  Here  the  valiant  Caranquis, 
who  had  always  been  the  faithful  vassals  of  the 
Shiris,  fought  with  such  bravery  that  from  the 
defensive  the  army  passed  to  the  offensive,  and 
the  Inca,  escaping  from  an  attack,  was  obliged 
to  raise  the  siege  of  the  Caranqui  fortress  and 
to  suspend  operations.  He  ordered  strongholds  to 
be  made  at  Pesillo,  and  turned  back  to  Tome- 
bamba,  with  the  purpose  of  calling  up  from  Cuzco 
and  the  other  provinces  fresh  forces  of  the  imperial 
troops.  In  the  meantime  the  Caranquis  attacked 
and  took  the  Pesillo  fortress,  and  killed  its  garrison, 
an  exploit  which  was  at  once  answered  by  Huayna 
Capac  with  a  strong  detachment  of  soldiers,  under 
the  command  of  his  brother  Auqui  Toma.  En- 

1  Velasco  and  Cevallos. 


THE  FALL  OF  THE  SHIRIS        231 

countering  no  resistance,  this  general  advanced  to 
Otalvo,  but  he  fell  in  the  first  attack.  Discouraged 
by  his  death,  the  Peruvians  halted .  Huayna  Capac 
then  advanced,  bent  on  vengeance,  and  the  attack 
was  renewed,  but  without  result.  At  length  by 
means  of  a  subterfuge,  in  which  the  Incas  pre- 
tended to  flee  and  then  made  a  flank  attack,  the 
castle  was  taken  and  burnt.  The  cheated  Caran- 
quis  fell  confused  before  the  enemy,  and  only  a 
captain  and  a  thousand  men  escaped,  taking  refuge 
in  the  forests.  Cachi  fled  to  the  famed  Hatun- 
taqui  fortress,  the  last  hope  of  his  remaining 
vassals,  and  around  this  stronghold  his  troops  were 
concentrated.  The  Shiri  king,  notwithstanding  his 
wasting  infirmity,  caused  his  servants  to  carry  him 
in  his  chair  to  the  place  of  greatest  danger  in  the 
combat.  The  Inca  sent  him  the  last  invitation  to 
an  honourable  surrender,  with  the  hope  of  avoiding 
further  bloodshed.  Cacha  made  reply  that  the 
war  was  not  of  his  seeking,  that  he  was  defending 
the  integrity  of  his  people,  and  that  he  would 
die  before  submitting.  The  attacks  continued,  and 
at  first  it  seemed  that  the  tide  of  battle  might 
turn  in  favour  of  the  Shiri.  But  these  hopes  were 
vain,  for,  suddenly  struck  by  a  lance,  which 
penetrated  his  body,  the  brave  Shiri  fell  dead  in 
his  chair.  Disaster  followed :  the  vanquished 
army  gave  up  its  weapons  and  surrendered,  pro- 
claiming, however,  at  the  last  moment,  upon  the 
stricken  field,  the  right  of  accession  to  kingship 
of  Paccha,  the  son  of  the  dead  king.  But  with 
the  battle  of  Hatuntaqui  fell  the  dynasty  of  the 


232      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

Shiris,  and  on  the  plain  which  had  formed  the 
fatal  battleground  the  traveller  may  observe  to-day 
the  numerous  tumuli  beneath  which  repose  the 
remains  of  those  who  once  formed  the  army  of 
the  kingdom  of  Quito.  Thus  was  played  out  in 
those  high  regions,  overlooked  by  the  Andine 
snows  and  volcanoes,  one  of  those  fateful  dramas 
of  early  America,  analogous  in  many  ways  with 
the  historic  struggles  of  Old  World  dynasties. 

"  An  incident  of  Huayna's  reign,  as  concerns 
Ecuador,  was  the  rebellion  of  the  Caranquis,  who 
had  accepted  the  Inca  rulers.  It  was  a  long  and 
obstinate  conflict  to  overcome  them,  but  terrible 
punishment  was  meted  out.  The  Inca  caused 
20,000 *  of  the  rebels  to  be  drowned  in  a  lake, 
that  of  Yahuar-Cocha,  whose  name  means  '  the 
lake  of  blood/  which  it  bears  to  the  present  time. 
The  number  given,  other  writers  remark,  was 
probably  that  of  the  combatants  who  fell  on  both 
sides.  When  the  punitive  expedition  was  accom- 
plished Huayna  returned  to  Quito,  greatly  troubled 
by  the  constant  insurrections  of  the  various  pro- 
vinces of  the  northern  empire.  There  was  a 
shadow  upon  the  mind  of  the  great  Inca  ruler, 
a  portent  of  some  disaster  to  befall  his  nation. 
These  forebodings  were  later  to  be  realized,  for 
the  caravels  of  the  white  man,  although  at  that 
moment  the  Inca  did  not  know  it,  were  about  to 
traverse  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  upon  the  coasts 
of  the  empire. 

"  Huayna  Capac  doubtless  received  news  of  the 

1  According  to  Cieza  de  Leon. 


HUAYNA   CAP  AC  233 

earlier  arrival  of  the  white  men  on  the  Panama 
coast  of  South  America,  and  the  matter  impressed 
him  strongly.  Tradition  states  that  supernatural 
occurrences  heralded  the  fall  of  the  Inca  Empire — 
gaming  comets,  earthquakes,  and  so  forth.  On 
his  deathbed,  according  to  tradition,  Huayna 
recalled  a  prognostication  that  had  been  earlier 
made,  that  after  twelve  Incas  had  reigned — Huayna 
himself  was  the  twelfth — a  valorous  race  would 
appear,  a  white,  bearded  people,  who  would  over- 
come the  empire.  'I  go  to  rest  with  our  father 
the  Sun,'  he  added.  But  it  would  appear  that 
the  great  Inca  had  not  always  regarded  the  sun 
as  an  infallible  power.  Some  years  before,  at 
the  great  feast  of  Raymi,  the  festival  of  the  Sun, 
at  Cuzco,  the  chief  priest  had  observed  that  the 
monarch  looked  up  from  time  to  time  at  the  orb 
with  considerable  freedom,  an  action  prohibited  and 
considered  almost  sacrilegious ;  and  he  inquired, 
why  the  Inca  did  this.  Huayna  replied:  '  I  tell 
you  that  our  Father  the  Sun  must  have  another 
lord  more  powerful  than  himself  ;  a  thing  so  inquiet 
and  so  bound  in  his  course  could  not  be  a  god.' 
Before  he  died  Huayna  Capac  'admonished  his 
successor  ever  to  carry  on  the  noble  traditions  of 
their  dynasty,  in  fulfilling  their  title  as  Movers  of 
the  poor.'  Indeed,  a  civilization  and  rulers  who 
had  so  organized  the  material  resources  of  the 
realm  and  the  life  of  the  community  that  none 
were  in  want,  and  where  no  class  oppressed 
another,  as  was  indisputably  the  case  under  the 
Inca  Empire,  well  merited  such  a  title,  and  that 


234      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

the  system  should  have  been  destroyed  by  the 
ruthless  individualism  of  the  Europeans  is  one  of 
the  most  melancholy  incidents  in  history."1'2 

These  same  remote  uplands  were  the  scene  of 
the  strenuous  march  of  the  Spaniards  under 
Alvarado  (whose  earlier  adventures  we  followed 
in  Mexico),  who  affected  to  consider  Quito  as 
outside  Pizarro's  jurisdiction.  Theirs  was  a  dread- 
ful march.  Accustomed  to  warmer  lands,  men 
and  horses  starved  with  cold  and  famine  in  the 
inclement  and  foodless  Cordillera.  They  were 
forced  to  eat  the  bodies  of  their  horses  and  to  boil 
herbs  in  their  helmets  for  food.  The  march  was 
made  in  vain,  for  Alvarado  had  been  forestalled 
by  Benalcazar,  who,  with  Almagro,  was  the  real 
conqueror  of  Ecuador. 

Ecuador,  after  the  time  of  Independence,  in 
which  the  famous  Liberator,  Bolivar,  figured  pro- 
minently, formed  part  of  the  republican  incorpora- 
tion with  Columbia  and  Venezuela.  Afterwards 
it  was  subject  to  revolutionary  strife  and  civil  wars 
of  the  most  savage  and  bloodthirsty  nature. 

Among  the  leaders  of  the  republican  period  the 
name  of  Dr.  Garcia-Moreno  stands  forth.  It  was 
a  steadfast  doctrine  of  his  that  political  progress 
could  not  be  secured  whilst  widespread  poverty 
among  the  people  remained — a  doctrine  opposed 

1  The  author  at  the  request  of  the  Economic  Circle  of  the 
National  Liberal  Club  in  London  lectured  before  that  body  on 
"  The  Land  Laws  and  Social  System  of  the  Incas  "  (1912). 

J  Ecuador,  loc.  cit. 


CONQUEST  OF  PERU  235 

to  the  merely  political  ideas  of  other  Presidents  of 
the  Republic,  and  which  indeed  is  as  true  to-day 
in  the  Spanish  American  Republics  as  it  was  then.1 

The  antagonisms  of  the  Liberal  and  clerical  ele- 
ments at  this  period  brought  dreadful  excesses  in 
political  life,  with  assassination  and  destruction. 
The  clergy  were  in  a  large  measure  corrupt,  their 
opponents  uncompromisingly  hostile,  and  woe  fell 
upon  the  land,  and  as  late  as  the  year  1912  the 
most  dreadful  deeds  were  committed,  and  the 
future  seems  to  hold  little  immunity  from  similar 
occurrences . 

Our  way  lies  now  into  Peru.  But  no  high- 
ways unite  the  two  Republics  along  the  almost 
inaccessible  ranges  of  the  Cordillera ;  no  rail- 
ways traverse  this  wild  and  broken  region  between 
them,  and  for  a  thousand  miles  the  whistle  of  the 
locomotive  is  unheard  among  the  mountains,  whose 
solitudes  are  traversed  only  by  the  difficult  mule- 
trail,  over  which  the  hardy  arriero  pursues  his 
arduous  course,  or  the  slow  and  patient  llama, 
feeding  on  the  scanty  herbage  as  it  goes. 

It  was  in  one  of  the  more  northern  towns  of 
Peru,  that  of  Cajamarca,  that  the  principal  act 
of  the  drama  in  the  downfall  of  the  Inca  Empire 
took  place,  and  we  cannot  do  less,  as  we  stand 
in  the  plaza  of  the  town,  than  cast  a  backward 
glance  at  this  page  of  early  American  history,' 
fraught  with  such  changes  of  destiny  to  the  folk 
of  the  Cordillera. 

1  For  an  account  of    this  ruler,  see  Latin  America,  Calderon, 
South  American  Series. 


236     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

We  have  seen  elsewhere  how  Pizarro  and  his 
followers  painfully  made  their  way  along  the 
South  American  coast.  On  September  24,  1532, 
they  began  their  march  upon  Cajamarca,  ascend- 
ing from  the  hot  coastal  lands  to  the  cold  regions 
of  the  Andes.  Stories  had  reached  them  of  great, 
populous  valleys,  high  up  among  the  clouds  which 
covered  the  mountains,  of  people  who  had  gold 
in  such  profusion  that  they  regarded  it  as  a 
commonplace,  and  made  their  household  utensils 
of  the  yellow  metal. 

The  Inca  Empire  at  that  moment  was  divided 
against  itself.  The  two  sons  of  the  great  Huayna 
Capac,  Atahualpa  and  his  brother  Huascar,  were 
fighting  for  the  inheritance.  Never  had  the  Empire 
been  divided  thus,  and  its  dissension  was  the 
precursor  of  its  fall . 

Pizarro  sent  emissaries  before  him,  and  they 
found  evidence  of  a  remarkable  civilization — in 
cut-stone  buildings,  bridges,  and  intensive  agri- 
culture. By  torture  of  the  Indians,  information 
was  extracted  concerning  the  intentions  of  Ata- 
hualpa, whose  swift  messengers  had  already 
apprised  the  Inca  chief  of  the  white  man's 
arrival  on  the  coast.  Atahualpa  was  crafty  and 
laid  plans  for  their  destruction,  but  meantime  he 
sent  gifts  of  llamas  and  golden  cups. 

However,  the  arrival  was  a  peaceful  one.  The 
Spaniards  formed  camp  and  arrogantly  sent  to 
summon  the  Inca  to  appear  before  them.  Her- 
nando  de  Soto,  the  emissary,  found  the  chief  in 
the  courtyard  of  his  residence^-a  part  of  which 


THE  LAST  OF  THE  INCAS         237 

still  stands  in  Cajamarca— and,  riding  up  to  him, 
rudely  forced  his  horse  in  front  of  Atahualpa,  until 
the  animal's  breath  fanned  his  very  face. 

But  the  stoic  Inca,  although  he  had  never  beheld 
these  terrible  men-animals,  as  the  Indians  termed 
the  horsemen,  before,  moved  notr  He  wore  the 
llauta,  a  fringe  of  crimson  wool,  the  emblem  of 
sovereignty.  He  vouchsafed  no  reply  at  first,  but 
afterwards  professed  his  friendship,  and  chicha,  or 
native  beer,  in  a  golden  loving-cup,  was  brought 
forth  for  the  Spaniards'  refreshment.  Thirty 
thousand  soldiers  with  lances  surrounded  him.  At 
a  word  of  his  the  Spaniards  might  have  been 
destroyed,  or  at  least  driven  off. 

A  careful  watch  was  kept  that  night  in  the 
Spanish  camp.  "They  are  five  hundred  to  one, 
comrades,"  said  Pizarro ;  "  but  if  we  must  fight 
and  die,  it  shall  be  like  Christians,  with  Providence 
on  our  side."  Or  such  at  least  is  what  the 
historians  have  recorded  of  Pizarro's  address  ;  and, 
as  we  have  before  remarked,  the  men  of  Spain, 
on  occasion,  were  devout. 

The  Spanish  plan  was  a  surprise  attack  and  to 
seize  the  person  of  Atahualpa.  On  the  following 
day  the  chief  was  to  return  the  visit.  The  Incas 
were  seen  approaching,  with  bands,  dancing,  and 
singing,  adorned  with  gold  and  silver ;  and, 
decked  in  his  regal  bravery,  reclining  in  his  litter, 
was  the  figure  of  the  prince,  the  last  of  the  Incas. 

Whether  the  intentions  of  the  Peruvians  were 
hostile  or  not  is  doubtful .  But  the  Spaniards  saw, 
or  pretended  to  see,  arms  concealed  beneath  the 


238      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

peaceful  robes,  and  they  prepared  themselves  to 
make  a  sudden  attack — to  strike  the  first  blow, 
after  their  customarily  valiant  manner. 

It  was  the  hand  of  the  Church  that  gave  the 
signal  for  the  onslaught  that  marked  the  beginning 
of  the  end  of  the  Incas.  The  Friar  Vicente 
Valverde — chroniclers  have  acclaimed  him  as  "  the 
rascally  friar " — advanced,  at  the  instigation  of 
Pizarro,  with  a  Bible  in  one  hand  and  a  cross  in 
the  other,  accompanied  by  an  interpreter,  to  meet 
Atahualpa  as  he  approached,  the  armed  Spaniards 
being  concealed  by  the  wall  of  the  plaza.  "You 
must  here  render  tribute  and  homage  to  our 
Emperor,"  exclaimed  Valverde,  "  to  our  Pontiff, 
and  to  the  God  of  the  Christians  "  ;  and  he  held 
forth  the  Bible. 

The  Inca  chief  took  the  book,  in  curiosity 
perhaps,  probably  not  understanding  what  was  said . 
Opening  it,  he  fingered  the  pages  a  moment,  and 
then  haughtily  and  impatiently  threw  the  book 
from  him.  "  Christians  !  "  called  out  the  friar— 
and  it  is  recorded  that  it  was  his  intention,  or  that 
he  had  instructions,  to  break  the  peace  under  any 
circumstances — "  Christians,  I  call  upon  you  to 
avenge  this  insult  to  the  faith  ! " 

Atahualpa,  suspecting  a  menace,  stood  up  in 
his  litter  and  ordered  his  soldiers  to  prepare. 
Pizarro  and  his  men  grasped  their  arms  and  rushed 
forth .  The  trumpets  sounded ;  the  mounted 
Spaniards  rode  to  the  charge  ;  the  Indians,  stricken 
with  terror  at  the  sound  of  the  guns,  retreated 
in  panic ;  and  the  Christians,  falling  upon  the  Inca 


ATAHUALPA'S  RANSOM  239 

army,  triumphed,  massacring  the  Indians  like 
sheep . 

Then  they  raised  their  eyes  to  heaven,  giving 
thanks  for  this  great  victory.  The  conquest  of 
Peru  was,  by  this  easy  victory,  already  theirs. 

The  Inca  chief  had  been  taken  prisoner  in  the 
engagement.  He  was  a  man  of  some  thirty  years 
of  age,  good-looking,  fierce,  stoic,  a  good  reasoner 
and  speaker,  and  the  Spaniards  regarded  him  as 
a  wise  man  and  treated  him  well  at  first. 
Probably  they  felt  his  superiority  over  them,  these 
rude  knights  of  the  conquest.  Great  chiefs  came 
from  all  parts  of  Peru  to  do  him  homage  in  his 
captivity.  Huascar,  his  brother,  had  been  mur- 
dered, it  is  said,  by  Atahualpa's  orders ;  and 
Pizarro  was  wroth  at  this  occurrence. 

The  scene  changes  again.  Fearing  that,  sooner 
or  later,  the  white  men  would  kill  him,  Atahualpa 
offered  them  a  princely  ransom  for  his  release. 

"What  ransom  can  you  give?"  asked  Pizarro, 
seeing  thereby  a  means  of  securing  untold  gold. 
"And  when  and  how  can  you  deliver  it?  " 

The  imprisoned  chieftain  raised  his  arm  to  a 
white  line  that  ran  high  around  the  wall  of  his 
chamber  or  cell.  "  I  will  fill  this  room  up  to  that 
line  with  gold,"  he  said — "  gold  as  pots  and 
vases,  gold  as  nuggets  and  as  dust.  I  will  fill 
this  room,  also,  twice  over  with  silver,  in  addition. 
That  shall  be  my  ransom,  and  it  shall  be  completed 
in  two  months'  time." 

The  offer,  naturally,  was  accepted.  '  Have  no 
fear,"  said  Pizarro.  The  Inca  sent  swift  mes- 


240     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

sengers  to  Cuzco,  the  capital,  hundreds  of  miles 
to  the  south,  along  the  rugged  Cordillera,  with 
orders  that  two  thousand  Indians  should  bring  the 
golden  vessels  from  the  temples  and  the  palaces. 

One  of  the  remarkable  institutions  of  the  Inca 
Empire  was  the  system  of  posts,  established  along 
the  famous  roads.  Relays  of  postmen  or  runners 
were  kept  stationed  at  the  tambos  or  post-houses. 
When  a  message  was  despatched,  the  runner  ran 
his  section  at  full  speed,  shouting  out  the  message 
to  the  next  waiting  postman,  who  immediately  pro- 
ceeded to  cover  his  stage  in  the  same  way ;  and 
thus  the  message  was  conveyed  with  the  utmost 
speed  for  hundreds  of  miles. 

Stores  of  gold  began  to  arrive — vases,  jars, 
pots,  some  weighing  as  much  as  twenty -five  pounds 
each  of  the  precious  metal.  The  Spaniards  one 
day  saw  a  remarkable  spectacle  upon  the  preci- 
pitous mountain  track,  on  the  farther  side  of  the 
valley — a  line  of  golden  pots,  borne  on  llamas, 
gleaming  in  the  sun,  coming  to  Cajamarca  for 
the  royal  ransom. 

The  promise  of  the  Inca  was  fulfilled.  The 
ransom  was  made  good.  Did  the  Spaniards  fulfil 
their  part?  For  the  answer  we  may  point  to  the 
final  scene,  when  Atahualpa,  at  first  condemned 
by  his  captors — especially  the  priest— to  be  burnt 
to  death,  was  strangled,  after  a  mock  trial  in  the 
plaza  —  infamously  done  to  death,  on  what  was 
probably  a  trumped-up  charge  of  intended 
treachery . 

The   only    bright    spot    on   this    foul    page    of 


PIZARKO,   THE  CONQUISTADOR. 


V.I.  I.     To  fa:e  p.  140 


THE  FALSE  FRIAR  241 

Spanish  history  is  in  the  circumstance  that  twelve 
of  the  Spaniards,  among  them  Hernando  de  Soto, 
protested  vigorously  against  the  deed.  But  Pizarro 
and  the  false  friar  Valverde,  and  others,  were 
resolved  upon  it,  and  nothing  moved  them. 

Possibly    Pizarro,    on    the    day    of    his    own 
assassination,  nine  years  afterwards,  recalled  this 
hour.     He  was  killed,  whilst  at  dinner  on  Sunday, 
by  the  follower  of  his  partner  Almagro — because, 
he  did  not  keep  his  promises. 

Peru  has  always  appealed  to  the  imagina- 
tion by  reason  of  its  natural  wealth,  added 
to,  its  mysteries  and  remoteness.  Humboldt  spoke 
of  it  as  "a  beggar  sitting  upon  a  heap  of  gold," 
an  aphorism  designed  to  convey  the  idea  of  unde- 
veloped riches.  There  is  scarcely  any  valuable 
or  useful  product  of  Nature  in  the  mineral  and 
vegetable  world  which  we  may  not  find  in  one  or 
other  of  the  wide  zones  of  littoral,  mountain  and 
forest  of  this  land ;  scarcely  any  potentiality  of 
life  is  lacking  among  her  people,  could  they  but 
make  their  way  to  its  enjoyment.  Since  Humboldt 
wrote,  much  has  been  done,  it  is  true,  but  it  is 
little  more  than  a  beginning,  in  some  respects. 

If  on  the  coastal  zone  we  remark  great  tracts 
of  territory  capable  of  cultivation  under  irrigation, 
so  do  we  find  the  agricultural  resources  of  the 
uplands  still  calling  for  development,  and  mineral 
resources  still  lying  unworked  in  many  districts  ; 
whilst  in  the  great  Montana,  or  region  to  the  east 
of  the  Andes,  which  occupies  the  greater  part  of 
the  Republic,  settlement  and  cultivation  are  in  the 

VOL.   I.  16 


242      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

nature  only  of  a  few  scattered  oases  in  what  is 
a  rich   and  fertile  wilderness. 

The  uplands  of  the  Andes  in  Peru  contain 
some  of  the  most  thickly-populated  parts  of  the 
country,  notwithstanding  their  considerable  eleva- 
tion. Here  we  find  capital  cities  or  towns  of  the 
various  Departments  or  States  at  elevation  ranging 
from  8,000  to  13,000  feet  above  the  sea,  whilst 
populous  mining  centres,  such  as  Cerro  de  Pasco 
and  others,  are  at  heights  up  to  f 4,000  feet. 

"  The  people  of  pure  Spanish  blood  in  these 
upland  communities  are  few,  relatively,  for  in  the 
course  of  time  they  have  become  so  intermingled 
with  the  original  inhabitants  that  they  now  form 
the  real  Mestizos,  or  people  of  mixed  race.  But 
they  are,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  as  much 
Spanish  Americans  as  the  dwellers  of  the  littoral 
provinces,  their  language  being  Spanish,  and  their 
customs  principally  of  similar  origin.  They  are 
a  well-meaning  class,  desirous  of  progress  and 
betterment,  but  kept  backward  by  the  isolation  of 
their  position,  and  the  poverty  of  the  country,  and 
low  standard  of  living  consequent  thereon. 

"  But  the  main  bulk  of  the  population  of  these 
regions  is  formed  by  the  original  people  who 
constituted  the  communities  of  the  Inca  Empire— 
the  Quechuas  and  Aymaras.  Whilst  in  general 
terminology  these  are  called  Indians,  they  must 
not  be  confounded  with  the  savage  tribes  of  the 
forest,  from  which  they  are  distinct  in  every 
respect.  They  merge  into  the  Cholos,  with 


THE  CHOLOS  AND  INDIANS         243 

an  admixture  of  Spaniard.  They  have,  of 
course,  absolutely  nothing  in  common  with  the 
imported  negroes  of  the  coast,  and  are  not  neces- 
sarily dark-skinned — their  complexion  sometimes 
being  relatively  light — although  they  are  beardless. 
The  hair  is  worn  in  a  queue.  They  are  strong  and 
hardy  in  constitution,  and  ,are  much  sought  after 
as  mining  labourers,  having  a  natural  aptitude  for 
this  work.  The  mining  regions,  in  some  cases, 
are  situated  at  very  high  elevations,  from  11,000 
to  1 7,000  feet,  or  more,  and  in  the  greatly  rarefied 
air  of  such  altitudes  none  but  the  actual  sons  of 
the  soil— who  have  paid  Nature  the  homage  of 
being  born  there — can  endure  the  hard  physical 
exertion  which  mining  demands. 

"  The  history  of  these  people  is  a  chequered 
and  terrible  one.  At  the  time  of  the  Inca  Empire 
they  lived  in  a  condition  of  happy  and  contented 
enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  their  toil — a  quiet, 
pastoral  life,  ruled  by  beneficent  laws  and  monarchs 
who  had  their  welfare  at  heart  in  a  manner  such 
as  has  never  been  carried  out  among  the  subjects 
or  citizens  of  any  Christian  nation.  They  in- 
habited their  glorious  uplands,  wresting  from 
Nature,  with  pleasurable  toil,  the  means  of  their 
simple  existence,  until — in  the  inexplicable  plan 
of  Nature,  which  ever  demands  strife  and  change 
—Spaniards  came  sailing  round  the  world,  and 
substituted  for  that  peaceful  regime  battle  and 
bloodshed,  and  long  and  terrible  oppression.  A 
resulting  fear  of  the  invading  white  man  inspired 
the  distrust  which  to-day  is  one  of  their  dominant 


244     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

characteristics — Spain's  legacy  in  the  Andes. 
This  has  induced  a  feeling  of  despair,  which  is 
imprinted  on  their  melancholy  countenances,  and 
in  the  passive  resistance  which  has  become  their 
habitual  attitude  towards  progress  and  the  adminis- 
tration of  the  Republic.  But  it  would  not  be  fair 
to  cast  the  onus  of  this  distrust  upon  the  Spaniards 
alone,  for  the  Cholos  have  been  abused  and 
oppressed  by  the  Peruvians  of  the  Republic,  almost 
up  to  the  present  day.  In  times  of  revolutionary 
war  their  goods  have  been  commandeered,  and 
themselves  made  to  serve  as  soldiers  in  strife 
in  which  they  had  no  interest,  whilst  in  times  of 
peace  they  have  been  considered  an  easy  subject 
for  spoliation  by  the  petty  authorities  and  the 
wealthier  Mestizo  class. 

"  The  population  of  these  regions  in  prehispanic 
days  was  very  considerable.  The  destroying 
tendency  of  the  Spanish  rule  is  indicated  by  the 
fact  that  the  Viceroy  Toledo,  in  1575,  numbered 
eight  million  Indians,  exclusive  of  the  savages  of 
the  forests,  whilst  at  the  close  of  the  Spanish 
regime  the  whole  population  of  the  country  only 
numbered  about  a  million  and  a  quarter.  At 
present  it  is  calculated  that  the  number  of  the 
Cholo-Indians  of  the  Andine  regions  is  something 
under  two  millions.  None  of  these  calculations 
is  quite  reliable,  but  the  fact  remains  that  the 
country  was  well -populated  in  pre-Colombian 
times,  and  that  great  destruction  took  place  during 
the  epoch  of  Pizarro  and  the  viceroys,  whilst 
internal  feuds  and  the  Chilean  War  accounted  for 


SMALL  HOLDINGS  245 

a  great  many  more  deaths.  High  mortality, 
moreover,  was  brought  about  from  misery  and 
privation  consequent  upon  wars.  To-day  the 
population  tends  slowly  to  increase,  but  infant 
mortality  among  the  Cholos  is  very  heavy,  due  to 
{he  wretched  and  insanitary  condition  of  their  life, 
added  to  the  rigours  of  the  climate  on  the  high 
plateaux ;  which  latter,  however,  would  not  be  an 
evil  were  the  standard  of  life  higher. 

"  The  poor  Cholo  has  retained  one  fortunate 
condition  from  the  civilization  of  his  Inca  forbears 
— he  is  an  independent  landholder.  The  small 
holding1,  or  chacara,  which  he  has  wrested  from 
Nature's  chaos  of  rocks  and  ravines  on  the  Andine 
slopes  is  his  own  ;  no  one  can  dispossess  him  of 
it,  and  it  affords  him  sufficient  crop  of  maiz, 
potatoes,  and,  in  places,  alfalfa,  to  keep  him  and 
those  dependent  upon  him.  He  is  often,  in 
addition,  the  owner  of  herds  of  llamas,  alpacas, 
or  sheep  and  goats,  and  from  their  wool  he  and 
his  woman  spin,  and  weave  with  their  primitive 
looms,  the  '  tweeds  ' — for  of  this  nature  is  the 
native  cloth— and  felt  hat,  which  are  his  gar- 
ments. These  small  holdings  have  been  made  in 
the  most  inaccessible  places  in  many  cases,  by 
clearing  away  rocks  and  banking  up  the  ground 
on  the  lower  side  in  a  similar  way  to  that  in 
which  the  andenes,  or  old  cultivated  terraces  of 
the  Inca  period,  were  formed,  and  which  still 
remain  and  excite  the  traveller's  notice  throughout 
the  whole  Andine  region. 

"  Indeed,  to  the  rough,  topographical  conditions 


246      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

and  difficult  environment  of  these  small  holdings 
is  due  the  Cholos'  undisputed  possession,  in  the 
first  instance,  thereof.  Had  they  existed  in  more 
favourable  situations  they  would  have  been  annexed 
long  ago,  first  by  the  Spanish  landholders,  and 
then  by  the  owners  of  large  haciendas  under  the 
Republic,  or  taken  by  the  petty  authorities  under 
one  or  another  pretext.  It  is  again  an  instance 
of  Nature  protecting  her  progeny  against  the 
ravages  of  their  own  kind.  The  laws  of  the 
Republic  now  forbid  these  small  holdings  to  be 
alienated  from  the  Cholos ;  a  wise  measure, 
tending  to  preserve  this  useful  peasant  class. 

"  The  andenes  y  as  the  terraced  fields  which  cover 
the  hill -slopes  of  the  Andine  region  are  termed, 
are  worthy  of  detailed  description.  They  exist 
in  almost  every  valley,  extending  upwards  from 
the  coast  and  the  foothills  to  elevations  of  12,000 
feet,  and  even  16,000  feet  or  more,  covering  the 
slopes  even  in  the  most  inaccessible  situations  and 
rigorous  altitudes.  From  some  high  saddle  or 
summit  whence  the  surrounding  horizon  is  visible, 
the  observer  notes  a  curious  chequered  or  rippled 
appearance  upon  the  flanks  of  the  ridges,  as  far 
as  the  eye  can  reach,  from  the  floor  of  the  valleys 
up  to  the  precipitous  rock  escarpments.  They  are 
the  andenes  ;  small  terraces,  one  after  the  other, 
embanked  on  the  lower  sides  with  stone  walls, 
like  a  series  of  irregular  steps,  where  the  soil  has 
been  collected  and  cultivated.  The  great  number 
of  these  small  holdings  in  every  direction  through- 
out the  Peruvian  Sierra  has  given  rise  to  the 


CHOLOS  AND  INDIANS  247 

supposition  that  a  numerous  population  inhabited 
the  Andes  in  prehistoric  times— estimates  even  of 
ninety  million  inhabitants  having  been  made.  But 
this  is  fabulous,  although  it  is  evident  that  a 
numerous  people  must  have  formed  and  cultivated 
these  remarkable  terraces,  of  whom  the  present 
population  are  only  a  residue. 

"  Adjacent  to  these  valleys,  especially  in  certain 
districts,  as  upon  the  Upper  Maranon,1  are  groups 
of  extensive  ruins  of  habitations,  as  well  as  of 
bury  ing -places,  known  as  huacas— often  containing 
mummies— and  of  castles  and  fortresses.  These 
latter  often  command  the  heads  of  valleys  and 
defiles,  and  they  go  to  show  that  the  former  in- 
habitants must  have  dwelt  as  separate  groups  or 
communities  under  the  leadership  of  some  chief 
-"-probably  in  pre-Inca  times.  These  andenes,  as 
the  Spaniards  termed  the  terraces  when  they 
conquered  Peru,  may  have  given  rise,  it  has  been 
surmised,  to  the  name  of  the  Andes ;  but  this 
probably  is  not  correct,  the  real  derivation  un- 
doubtedly coming  from'  the  name  of  the  Antis — 
a  tribe  which  inhabited  the  snow-covered  Cordillera 
region,  which  was  termed  by  the  Incas  Anti-suya. 
This  name,  in  Quechua,  signifies  '  copper-bearing,' 
and  copper  was  extensively  used  by  the  Incas. 

"  The  Cholo,  then,  provides  for  his  wants,  and 
he  is  quite  independent— when  allowed  to  be  so 
— of  the  governing  race.  He  asks  nothing  from 
civilization,  and  indeed  this  has,  so  far,  brought 

1  Visited   by   the   author   and   described   before   the    Royal 
Geographical  Society. 


248     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

him'  mainly  two  things— the  superstitious  part  of 
the  Roman  Catholic  religion,  and  alcohol  I  The 
one  has  partly  improved  his  mind— the  other  tends 
to  ruin  his  body. 

"  At  Fair  times,  and  ori  the  numerous  Church 
feast-days,  the  Cholos  and  their  women  flock  into 
the  towns  to  buy,  sell,  drink  and  indulge  in 
religious  exercises .  With  their  bright  -  hued 
blankets  and  ponchos— generally  made  by  them- 
selves—they lend  colour  and  interest  to  the  scene. 
And  the  priests — ha  !  the  priests  ! — this  is  the  time 
of  their  harvest,  and  the  Cholos  are  the  inex- 
haustible supply  whence  they  draw  fees,  tithes 
and  offerings.  For  the  Cholo  nature  has  been 
most  susceptible  to  the  rites  and  representations 
with  which  Roman  Catholicism  is  interpreted 
among  them.  They  all  bear  Spanish  names— 
Christian  and  surname— and  each  has  his  patron 
saint :  and  they  must  be  considered  a  civilized 
race. 

11  As  stated,  these  people  are  the  descendants 
of  the  Incas,  or  rather  of  the  Quechuas  and 
Aymaras,  who  formed  the  population  of  the 
Inca  Empire,  for  of  the  Inca  line  there  are  no 
descendants  whatever  left.  The  Incas  were  a 
royal  line,  and  whilst  their  members  were  more 
or  less  numerous,  owing  to  the  polygamy  customary 
to  them,  the  irregular  descendants  were  not 
recognized  as  legitimate  Incas,  the  real  line  of 
succession  having  been  preserved  by  the  progeny 
of  the  marriage  of  the  reigning  Inca  with  his  own 
sister.  The  illegitimate  offspring  naturally  inter- 


CHOLOS  AND  INDIANS  249 

married  with  the  common  people,  and  were  merged 
into  these  again.  Elsewhere  some  particulars 
of  the  past  history  and  conditions  of  the  Incas, 
and  the  population  under  their  rule,  have  been 
described,  as  also  their  structures — temples,  palaces 
and  habitations — the  ruins  of  which  are  encountered 
to-day  along  these  vast  uplands,  where  the  Cholo 
feeds  his  flock,  and  lives  his  remote  and  melancholy 
existence.  In  marked  contrast  are  some  of  these 
beautiful  ruins  to  the  wretched  habitations  of  the 
present  occupiers  of  the  land. 

"  The  Cholo-Indians  of  the  uplands  are,  then, 
miners,  shepherds  and  agriculturists.  In  tending 
their  flocks,  and  in  the  breeding  and  domestication 
of  the  llama,  they  are  remarkably  expert,  and  their 
patience  and  endurance  arouse  the  interest  of  the 
traveller  who  sojourns  among  them.  They  have 
many  good  qualities,  which  have  been  unable  yet 
to  expand.  The  true  policy  of  the  administrations 
which  govern  them  must  be  towards  bettering 
them  and  causing  them  to  multiply,  for,  apart 
from  motives  of  humanity,  they  are  one  of  the 
country's  most  valuable  human  assets.  If  they 
fail,  and  become  exterminated,  a  large  part  of 
the  uplands  and  higher  valleys  of  the  Andes  would 
become  an  uninhabited  desert,  for  it  is  doubtful 
if  any  other  race  could  ever  occupy  their  place, 
or  perform  manual  labour  at  the  great  elevations 
which  form  their  habitat. 

"  Let  us  now  glance  at  the  conditions  of  life 
in  some  of  the  principal  towns  of  this  region  of 
the  Sierra.  As  is  but  natural,  the  farther  these 


communities  are  removed  from  the  coast,  the 
more  primitive  does  their  mode  of  life  become. 
When  the  only  means  of  communication  with  the 
outside  world  are  by  difficult  and  sometimes  dan- 
gerous mule-roads,  journeys  are  undertaken  but 
rarely,  and  new  influences,  objects  and  appliances 
are  not  easily  forthcoming.  Yet  in  some  cases 
demand  is  met  by  supply,  and  in  spite  of  the 
difficulty  of  conveyance  of  heavy  goods  ;  pianos, 
billiard-tables  and  such  things  are  constantly  met 
with  in  the  houses  and  restaurants  of  the  large 
towns  in  the  inter-Andine  region.  But  books, 
pictures  and  other  essentials  of  refined  life  are 
scarce . 

'*  What  is  the  aspect  of  these  towns  ?  Imagine 
yourself  astride  your  mule  upon  the  summit  of 
the  range  which  bounds  one  of  these  Andine 
valleys.  You  have  toiled  on  all  day,  saddle-galled 
and  weary,  and  you  gladly  direct  your  gaze  to 
where  the  town  lies  spread  below — a  bird's-eye 
view.  The  streets  run  at  right  angles,  with  a 
central  plaza  containing  the  cathedral  or  church, 
and  official  buildings  ;  the  hotel— if  there  be  one 
at  this  particular  place— and  various  shops  and 
houses.  The  cultivated  plain  surrounds  it— the 
'  flat  place  '  which  Nature  has  provided,  and  which, 
together  with  the  river  which  intersects  it,  is  the 
reason  of  man's  habitation  there  at  all.  For  it 
is  early  impressed  upon  the  traveller  in  the  Andes 
that  '  flat  places  '  are  a  prime  requisite  for 
humanity's  existence.  You  begin  the  descent, 
having  seen  that  the  crupper  of  your  mule  is  in 


LIFE  IN  THE  UPLANDS  251 

place,  in  order  that  you  may  not  journey  upon 
the  animal's  neck ;  whilst  your  arriero  tightens  the 
pack -mule's  girths.  Small  chacaras,  or  holdings, 
with  little  tumble-down  stone  huts,  grass -roofed, 
straggle  up  the  hillside,  and  bare -legged,  unwashed 
children  rush  out  among  your  animal's  legs— the 
progeny  of  unkempt  Cholo  peasant  women,  at  work 
within  upon  the  preparation  of  some  primitive  meal . 
The  little  holdings  are  surrounded  by  rude  stone 
walls,  or  hedges  of  prickly-pear,  or  maguey 
(agave).  Still  you  descend.  The  huts  give  place 
to  adobe  houses,  with  whitewashed  walls  and  red- 
tiled  or  grass-thatched  roofs  ;  the  straggling  trail 
forms  itself  more  into  the  semblance  of  a  street ; 
your  beast's  hoofs  rattle  over  the  cobble  pavement ; 
some  few  inhabitants  stand  at  their  doors  to  stare 
and  remark  at  the  advent  of  a  stranger ;  and  in  a 
moment  you  have  entered  the  plaza. 

"  The  condition  of  the  plaza,  in  Spanish 
American  cities,  is  an  index  of  the  prosperity  and 
enterprise  of  the  particular  community.  In  the 
more  wealthy  and  advanced  towns  it  is  well  paved, 
and  planted  with  shrubs  and  flowers,  and  a  band, 
during  several  evenings  of  the  week,  discourses 
music  therein,  to  the  delight  of  the  populace. 
Here  pretty  girls  and  amorous  youths  promenade 
— the  only  means  of  exercise  the  former  are  per- 
mitted, and  the  only  general  meeting-ground  of 
the  two  sexes.  In  the  interior  towns  of  Peru  the 
plaza  is  often  grass-grown  and  unpaved.  It  seems 
to  reflect  the  poverty  of  its  inhabitants,  and  to 
impress  upon  the  foreigner  that  the  country  is  but 


252      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

slowly  recovering  from  the  misfortunes  of  its 
troubled  history.  The  traveller,  accustomed  to  the 
movement  and  modernness  of  the  cities  of  other 
lands,  will  observe  the  triste  aspect  of  the  place 
with  dismay,  and  wish  he  might  turn  his  horse's 
head  again  without  delay  towards  the  coast  and 
civilization.  But  the  more  leisurely  observer  will 
not  fail  to  find  much  that  is  interesting  even  here. 
The  buildings  are  quaint ;  the  air  of  mediaeval 
times  which  shrouds  the  grass -grown  plaza  and  the 
half -ruined  church,  together  with  the  strange  garb 
of  the  Indians  who  slink  through  the  streets,  and 
the  struggling  evidences  of  modern  civilization — 
in  shop  sign  or  municipal  notice— are  almost 
pathetic.  Whatever  it  is,  it  is  peaceful ;  the 
climate  is  bracing,  the  cost  of  living — to  foreign 
eyes — nil ;  and  do  not  the  surrounding  hills  and 
valleys  contain  unknown  possibilities  of  mineral 
and  industrial  wealth? 

"  The  society  of  these  places  consists  of  the 
official  element — the  prefect  and  other  function- 
aries, and  few  professional  men  ;  the  few  store- 
keepers, and  the  chief  landowners  of  the 
neighbourhood.  There  is  but  little  social  life 
— an  occasional  baile,  a  few  political  meetings,  and 
the  Sunday  morning  Mass.  At  the  latter,  the 
young  men  of  the  place  foregather  at  the  church 
door,  what  time  the  devout  senoritas  come  forth, 
and  pass  review  of  soft  faces  and  flashing  eyes, 
beneath  shady  mantillas.  There  is  probably  a 
club  with  billiard-tables,  brought  with  difficulty 
over  mountain  roads,  as  before  mentioned,  and 


CARNIVAL  TIME  253 

newspapers  of  somewhat  remote  date.  But  the 
chief  centres  for  gossip -mongers  are  the  stores, 
and  shops  where  copitas  of  brandy  and  native 
spirits  are  sold. 

41  The  great  merry-making  period  of  the  year 
is  that  of  the  three  days'  carnival  celebration. 
During  this  time  business  is  entirely  suspended, 
and  the  whole  population — whether  in  Lima  and 
other  coast  cities,  the  towns  of  the  Andes,  or  the 
remote  hamlets  of  the  plateaux — give  themselves 
over  to  frenzied  play.  This  consists  principally 
in  bombarding  each  other  from  the  balconies  of 
the  houses  with  globos,  or  india-rubber  bladders 
full  of  water ;  squirts,  scents,  powder  and  other 
matters.  It  is  impossible  to  pass  along  the  streets 
during  these  three  days'  riotous  play  without  being 
soaked  or  covered  with  flour  or  powder  from  above, 
and  the  only  method  is  either  to  enter  into  the 
sport,  or  else  lie  low  at  home  until  it  is  over.  The 
usual  reserve  between  the  sexes  is  much  broken 
down  at  this  time,  and  the  warm-blooded  Peruvian 
girl  enters  with  much  zest  into  the  temporary  Jicence 
of  Carnival. 

"  The  houses  of  the  upland  towns  are  generally 
built  of  adobe  or  tapiales — that  is,  of  bricks  or 
concrete  made  of  wet  earth,  sun  -  dried  and 
whitened — the  roofs  being  covered  with  red  pan- 
tiles, or  thatched  with  grass.  Through  the  wide 
entrance  door  access  is  gained  to  the  patio,  or 
interior  paved  yard,  after  the  usual  Spanish  Ameri- 
can style,  upon  which  the  various  rooms  look  and 
open .  The  windows  upon  the  street  are  all  securely 


254     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

barred  with  iron  rejas,  or  grilles,  and  the  whole 
aspect  is  quaint  and  mediaeval,  though  the  arrange- 
ment lacks  in  comfort  from  the  foreigner's  point 
of  view ;  whilst  the  interior  menage  is  naturally 
of  a  nature  more  primitive  than  that  of  communities 
in  European  towns.  But  in  general,  the  peoples 
of  these  regions  dwell  in  sufficiency,  and  that  acute 
poverty,  as  among  the  lower  strata  of  foreign  cities, 
does  not  exist  in  Peru. 

"  The  ultimate  and  irrevocable  line  of  caste  dis- 
tinction in  these  places  is  that  between  the  coat 
and  the  poncho.  From  the  prefect  and  the  lawyer 
and  the  doctor,  down  to  the  shop  assistant,  the 
dress  is  the  coat  of  the  ordinary  European  form. 
Be  there  but  the  smallest  recognized  strain  of 
European  blood  in  the  individual,  it  will  be 
sheltered  by  the  coat,  but  below  this  all  is  ignor- 
ance and  the  poncho.  This  useful  but  uncivilized 
garment  consists  of  a  species  of  blanket  with  an 
opening  in  the  centre  by  which  it  is  slipped  over 
the  head.  We  must,  however,  temper  this  '  clothes- 
philosophy'  by  remarking  that  the  poncho  is  used 
even  by  caballeros  on  certain  occasions,  especially 
on  horseback,  when,  in  the  form  of  a  thin  white 
•material,  it  wards  off  the  sun's  rays  and  protects 
the  horseman  from  dust,  whilst  as  a  thick  woollen 
garment  it  shields  him  from  the  bitter  blasts  and 
keen  air  of  the  mountain  uplands.  The  ponchos 
woven  of  vicuna  wool  by  the  Cholos  are  of  the 
most  exquisite  texture,  and  practically  water- 
proof. But  the  ordinary  blanket  poncho  is  the 
poor  Indian's  greatest  possession.  It  shelters 


PERUVIAN  HOSPITALITY  255 

him  by  day  from  the  sun  or  rain,  and  at  night 
it  forms  his  bed. 

1  The  advent  of  a  foreigner  in  these  more  remote 
places  is  a  matter  of  interest  to  the  inhabitants, 
and — especially  if  he  be  a  person  bent  upon  some 
scientific  or  exploratory  work — he  is  well  and  hos- 
pitably received,  and  all  facilities  afforded  to  him. 
Keen  interest  is  taken  in  anything  pertaining  to 
the  outside  world,  for  these  people,  cut  off  as 
they  are  by  natural  barriers  from  its  happenings, 
are  far  from  being  apathetic,  or  indifferent  of 
events.  Indeed  it  is  this  eager  interest  and 
avidity  for  knowledge  of  the  modern  world  which 
most  greatly  touches  the  sympathy  of  the  traveller, 
and  which  is  the  element  which  must  redeem  the 
people  of  these  remote  places  from  stagnation  and 
decadence . 

"  Peruvian  hospitality  is  proverbial,  and  nowhere 
is  it  stronger  than  among  the  peoples  of  the  upper 
class  in  the  Sierra.  The  traveller  soon  becomes 
the  centre  of  a  group  who  press  their  not  un- 
welcome attentions  upon  him  ;  and  they  provide 
the  best  their  houses  afford  for  his  refreshment 
and  entertainment,  as  a  rule  accepting  nothing  in 
payment.  This  pleasing  quality,  in  addition  to 
being  born  of  their  native  kindness,  is  motived 
partly  from  the  desire  to  be  considered  civilized, 
and  this  is  not  without  a  note  of  pathos.  The 
traveller,  moreover,  will  not  fail  to  recollect  that 
he  has  sojourned  in  other — business — communities, 
whose  higher  civilization  certainly  does  not  neces- 
sarily include  hospitality.  These  Sierra  people  of 


256     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

Peru,  whilst  they  possess  pleasing  traits  of  the  above 
nature,  have  also  others  less  happy.  They,  as  a 
class,  are  sometimes  unscrupulous  in  their  business 
dealings,  and  agreements  are  not  always  to  be  relied 
upon — a  defect  of  the  Spanish  American  generally, 
which  at  times  overshadows  his  better  qualities." » 

We  have  already  remarked  on  the  mineral 
resources  of  the  Andine  region  of  Peru.  It  may 
be  that,  in  the  future,  attention  will  be  more  widely 
directed  thereto,  and  travellers  with  technical 
knowledge  of  mining  are  increasingly  making  their 
way  here,  and  some  notes  on  this  score  are  of 
interest.  Little,  however,  seems  possible  in  this 
field  without  the  use  of  foreign  capital. 

In  a  land  so  famous  for  its  gold  as  was  that 
of  Old  Peru,  it  is  remarkable  that  so  little  gold  is 
produced  at  the  present  time — an  insignificant 
annual  amount  of  little  over  £100,000.  Yet  there 
are  many  gold-bearing  deposits  scattered  over  the 
vast  upland  region,  from  auriferous  quartz-eeams 
to  vast  gravel  deposits.  There  do  not  appear  to 
be  any  huge  ore-bodies  of  the  nature  of  South 
Africa,  with  low-grade  but  abundant  material.  The 
seams,  however,  in  many  cases  offer  "  payable 
propositions."  There  are  rock  ledges  of  great 
length  and  depth,  capable  of  being  worked  eco- 
nomically by  adits  rather  than  shafts,  and  some- 
times with  water-power  available  and  with  "  cheap 
mining  labour "  (that  attractive  item  of  the 
company -promoter's  prospectus)  at  hand,  with 

*  Peru,  Enock,  in  the  South  American  Series. 


GOLD  AND   SILVER  257 

immediate  areas  of  fertile  land  for  the  needful 
foodstuffs.  A  difficult  feature  sometimes  is  the 
matter  of  transport,  for,  from  the  coast,  the 
Cordillera  must  be  surmounted. 

The  enormous  gold-bearing  alluvial  deposits  are 
generally  situated  on  the  most  westerly  side  or 
summits  of  the  Cordillera,  and  in  the  Montana, 
and  are  difficult  of  access  at  present  in  the  absence 
of  railways.  Various  enterprises  have  been  set  on 
foot  to  win  the  gold  from  these  in  recent  years — 
whether  by  the  method  of  dredging,  whether  after 
the  Calif ornian  "  hydraulic  "  system — but  it  is 
doubtful  if  they  have  proved  a  success,  from  a 
variety  of  causes.  There,  however,  is  the  gold, 
awaiting  recovery. 

The  reputation  for  fabulous  wealth  of  silver  in 
the  Peruvian  mountains  has  passed  into  a  proverb. 
Great  wealth  has  been  recovered,  and  the  ores 
are  often  extremely  rich.  Myriads  of  old  workings 
exist,  which  were  abandoned  because  the  more 
primitive  appliances  of  a  past  age  did  not  permit 
the  drainage  of  the  mines,  which  became  filled 
with  water ;  but  they  are  capable  of  being  pumped 
out.  Romantic  tales  are  told  of  the  enrichment 
of  miners  who  persevered  in  their  labours  in  some 
lonely  mine  and  won  great  fortune.  In  the  many 
examinations  I  made  here  of  gold  and  silver  mines 
in  Peru  there  were  found  conditions  that  should 
well  repay  modern  mining  enterprise.  There  is, 
of  course,  a  good  deal  of  work  being  carried  on. 

The  great  wealth  of  copper,  lead,  zinc,  quick- 
silver, iron  and  coal  also  present  their  attractions, 

VOL.  I.  17 


258     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

and  there  are  rarer  metals  whose  use  commerce 
urgently  requires.  But  foreign  capital  does  not 
flow  very  freely  to  Peru,  and  Peruvian  capital  does 
not  seem  to  have  the  organizing  faculty  to  develop 
the  mineral  wealth  of  the  country  for  itself.  The 
mining  laws  of  Peru  offer  considerable  privileges 
to  the  foreigner,  whom  the  Government  is  ever 
desirous  of  encouraging. 

The  Indian,  the  native  miner,  has  his  own 
methods  of  winning  the  gold  from  the  rocks  and 
gravels,  or  the  gold-bearing  streams  of  the  Mon- 
tana, or  the  auriferous  earths  of  the  high  pampas. 
In  the  streams  he  selects  a  suitable  spot  and  paves 
it  with  large  stones.  Then,  when  the  floods  pass 
over  the  prepared  surface  of  rude  "  riffles,"  the 
gold  carried  down  by  the  waters  from  the  auriferous 
rocks  lodges  in  the  interstices,  and,  removing  the 
stones,  he  recovers  the  precious  nuggets  and  dust. 
Or,  by  laborious  panning  in  a  batea,  or  wooden 
bowl,  hollowed  out  of  a  block  of  wood,  he  washes 
the  gravel  from  the  rich  banks  of  sediment,  and 
the  gold  lies  at  the  bottom.  In  the  case  of  the 
gold-bearing  ores,  he  digs  shallow  pits  in  the 
surface  of  the  ledge,  where  Nature,  under  the  oxi- 
dation of  the  pyrites,  has  transformed  the  gold 
into  a  form  recoverable  by  the  simple  method  of 
amalgamation  with  quicksilver,  after  crushing  the 
friable  quartz  under  a  primitive  rocking -stone. 

Indeed,  in  many  places,  it  would  seem  that 
Nature  has  placed  the  gold  here  in  a  form  such 
that  recovery  will  remunerate  the  natural  son  of 
the  soil,  when  a  more  greedy  and  better -equipped 


THE  POTATO  AND  THE  LLAMA  259 

41  company  "  would  be  unable  to  pay  its  way.  The 
stores  of  gold  possessed  by  the  Incas  of  Peru  were 
won  by  such  primitive  methods ;  large  bodies  of 
Indians  being  employed  upon  the  work,  and 
evidences  of  their  operations  remain  to  the  present 
time. 

The  ancient  folk  of  the  Andes  had  as  their 
greatest  food  products  maiz,  millet  and  potatoes, 
together  with  the  numerous  tropical  fruits  of  the 
lowlands.  They  gave  Europe  the  potato — surely 
no  inconsiderable  gift — having  developed  it  in 
Ecuador,  Peru  and  Chile,  from  the  wild,  bitter 
variety ;  and  Europe  gave  them  wheat  and  other 
cereals,  and,  of  course,  the  domestic  animals — ox, 
cow,  sheep,  horse  and  pig. 

The  llama  was  their  only  beast  of  burden  here 
— this  curious,  hoofed,  ruminating  quadruped  of  the 
camel  tribe,  with  its  long  neck  and  timid  face. 
In  our  journeys  along  these  bleak  uplands  we  shall 
meet  large  droves  of  the  llamas,  bearing  loads 
of  merchandise,  in  weight  up  to  a  hundred  pounds. 
These  animals  are  sagacious  in  their  way,  and  if 
overloaded  refuse  to  move.  Their  services,  their 
wool,  their  flesh,  are  all  extremely  valuable  adjuncts 
of  Indian  life.  The  creature  costs  little  or  nothing 
to  keep  :  it  requires  no  shelter,  and  it  feeds  itself 
as  it  goes  along,  at  a  rate  of  about  four  miles  an 
hour.  The  llama  indeed  was — and  is — an  out- 
standing figure  in  the  native  economics  of  the 
Peruvian  and  Bolivian  Andes.  Its  cousin  the 
alpaca  is  also  to  be  seen  in  large  bands. 

Up  to  the  limit  of  the  temperate  zone  in  the 


260     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

Peruvian  Andes,  about  11,500  feet,  we  shall  re- 
mark some  of  the  familiar  flora  of  England,  such 
as  ferns,  nettles,  buttercups,  violets  and  stitchwort, 
together  with  wild  geraniums  and  pelargoniums. 
Apples,  pears,  cherries  and  strawberries  also  grow, 
under  desultory  cultivation.  Trees  are  scant  in 
the  almost  treeless  Andes,  and  we  find  little  beyond 
the  groves  of  stunted  quinua  and  other  native 
shrubs,  which,  however,  are  valuable  for  fuel.  The 
ichu  grass — stipa  Incana — which  also  serves  for 
"  thatching  "  the  Indian  huts,  is  the  predominant 
herbage . 

As  we  ascend,  the  vegetation  becomes  even  more 
humble.  At  13,500  feet  the  potato  will  not  grow  ; 
the  hardy  barley  will  not  yield.  Only  a  few  thorny 
shrubs  and  some  curious  cacti  are  to  be  seen. 
Higher  still  we  reach  the  limit  of  the  perpetual 
snow,  where  little  but  the  lichens  and  a  few 
cryptogams  appear,  except  a  few  cold-resisting 
flowers  having  medicinal  properties.  Above,  all 
is  bare,  the  inorganic  world  asserts  its  kingdom — 
except  for  the  condor  of  the  Andes  circling  around 
the  summit  of  some  ice -covered  volcano. 

Here  in  these  high,  inclement  uplands,  I  have 
pitched  my  tent,  and  my  Indians  are  now  preparing 
a  meal  around  the  camp-fire,  made  of  the  dry 
grass  or  some  scanty  lena  or  firewood,  or  possibly 
we  may  have  come  across  a  "  colony "  of  the 
curious  yareta,  a  huge  mushroom-like  woody 
growth,  perhaps  three  feet  in  diameter,  full  of  resin, 
which  burns  fiercely :  a  product  only  of  the 
Peruvian  and  Bolivian  heights.  Failing  these 


PERU  :   LLAMAS  AND   ALPACAS. 


PERU  :   NATIVE   BLANKET   WEAVER   IN   THE   ANDES. 


Vol.  I.     To  face  p.  260. 


ANDEAN  TRAVEL  261 

matters,  the  fire  must  be  of  dry  llama  dung1, 
or  taquia,  a  useful  fuel  in  the  Andes,  from 
which  even  the  ores  of  silver,  in  places,  are 
smelted .  '  I 

Here  on  the  roof  of  the  world  we  mark  the 
rays  of  the  setting  sun  tinting  a  rosy  red  the  eternal 
pinnacles  of  the  Andes,  and  the  last  glow  gone, 
we  must  seek  the  tent  and  draw  the  ponchos  about 
us ;  the  Indians  throwing  themselves  upon  the 
ground  outside .  Simple  and  faithful  souls  are  these 
children  of  the  uplands,  full  of  gratitude  to  the 
patron  who  treats  them  fairly ;  resourceful  and  in- 
dustrious. And  the  Ingles,  of  course,  treat  them 
well  and  justly.  Is  not  an  Englishman's  word 
his  bond?  Further,  are  not  his  pockets  invariably 
lined  with  silver  I  Months  have  I  spent  in  these 
wilds,  without  any  other  companions  than  the 
Quechua  Indians  and  the  Cholos,  our  only  language 
Spanish  and  what  smattering  of  Quechua  it  was 
possible  for  me  to  acquire. 

Or  perhaps  I  have  formed  camp  in  some 
abandoned  Inca  ruins,  and  the  evening  meal  has 
been  cooked  in  the  ruined  stone  fireplace  of  folk 
departed  these  many  centuries  :  my  seat  a  cube  of 
stone  neatly  fashioned — one  of  those  which  strew 
the  ground  around— by  some  ancient  mason. 
There  one  may  ponder  upon  the  strange  folk,  who 
built  massive  temples  and  megalithic  walls — in  a 
region  where  there  is  no  timber  and  where  corn 
does  not  grow.  Why  did  these  folk  establish  them- 
selves in  these  high  places?  Are  there  any  other 
mountains  in  the  world  where  Nature  brought  forth 


262      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

a  dominating  culture  so  near  the  clouds  as  that 
whose  progenitors  went  forth,  as  we  are  told,  from 
the  mysterious  island  of  Titicaca? 

Or  again,  night  has  overtaken  us  on  the  edge 
of  the  Montana,  and,  below,  we  overlook  the  tree- 
filled  valleys,  part  of  the  forest  which  stretches 
unbroken  for  thousands  of  miles  across  the 
Amazon  plains  of  Brazil.  The  valley  may  be 
filled  with  mist,  and  the  effect  is  remarkable,  as 
a  weird  transformation  scene .  The  sun  sets  ;  it 
still  tinges  the  western  sky  with  its  beauteous  and 
indescribable  tints.  The  palest  saffron  fades  into 
the  pearly-green  of  the  zenith,  and  the  last,  orange 
rays,  calm  and  cold,  flash  faintly  and  expiringly 
upwards.  In  the  deep  canons  the  fleecy  masses  of 
pearly  vapour  slowly  pour — "  slow,  lingering  up  the 
hills  like  living  things."  So  soft  and  pure  are  they 
that  they  might  be  the  couch  spread  for  some 
invisible  god-traveller  !  No  eye  but  mine  beholds 
them.  The  Indians  are  busy  at  the  camp-fire. 
Then  the  mist  masses  arise  as  if  to  engulf  the 
lonely  headland  on  which  we  stand,  like  awful 
billows.  But  the  light  fades,  except  that  of  a 
single  jewelled  planet,  which  gleams  softly  and 
protectingly  down  from  its  gathering  height. 

The  Indians  sustain  themselves  at  times  on  their 
journeys  by  chewing  the  leaves  of  the  coca  shrub, 
which  are  a  valued  possession  among  them.  This 
shrub,  peculiar  to  Peru  and  Bolivia — although  it 
has  now  been  transplanted  to  Ceylon— is  that  which 
gives  us  the  cocaine  of  the  pharmacopoeia.  For 
the  invaluable  quinine,  we  may  also  be 


CUZCO  263 

grateful  to  Peru  and  to  the  memory  of  that 
viceroy's  lady,  the  Countess  of  Chinchon,  who, 
sick  of  a  fever — it  was  tercianas  or  tertial  malaria 
— was  cured  by  an  Indian  woman  with  doses  ,of 
the  steeped  bark  of  the  quinine  shrub,  which  bears 
her  name  to  this  day. 

The  most  ancient  and  remarkable  town  of  the 
Cordillera  is  Cuzco,  the  one-time  Inca  capital.  It 
lies  in  a  valley,  overlooked  by  lofty  mountains  ;  and 
on  its  northern  side  stands  the  famous  fortress 
of  Sacsaihuaman,  the  Cyclopean  fortress  of  the  early 
Peruvians — the  Incas  and  their  predecessors.  Here 
we  may  stand  upon  the  great  walls  of  what  is 
one  of  the  most  remarkable  of  prehistoric  struc- 
tures, forming  terraces  along  the  hillside  of  great 
stone  blocks,  built  in  the  form  of  revetments  and 
salients,  some  of  the  stones  being  nearly  twenty 
feet  high. 

Many  of  the  walls  of  the  Cuzco  streets  still 
retain  their  Inca  stone  construction,  a  monument 
to  the  clever  masonry  of  these  people,  which  has 
excited  the  interest;  and  admiration  of  many  archae- 
ologists and  travellers.  Here  was  the  Temple  of 
the  Sun,  and  indeed  part  of  its  beautifully  moulded 
walls  still  remains. 

The  town  is  the  centre  of  one  of  the  most  popular 
districts  of  Peru,  labouring  Indians  mainly  ;  and 
it  has  a  number  of  interesting  Spanish  colonial 
buildings,  with  some  textile  and  other  industries. 
We  may  reach  Cuzco  now  by  rail  from  Arequipa 
and  the  coast  at  Mollendo.  Not  far  away  are  others 
of  the  remarkable  remains  of  early  Peruvian  civi- 


264     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

lization,  including  the  Inca  "  astronomical  obser- 
vatory "  of  Intihuatana,  where  the,  priests  deter- 
mine the  solstices  by  means  of  the  shadow 
cast  by  a  stone  column,  a  portion  of  which 
still  exists.  Also  Ollanta. 

Cuzco  witnessed  the  final  overthrow  of  the  Incas 
after  the  scene  at  Cajamarca,  and  many  excesses 
were  committed  here  by  the  Spaniards,  in  their 
purpose  of  stamping  out  the  early  Peruvian 
civilization— a  sad  and  pathetic  page  of  history 
indeed. 

If  on  these  high  and  often  dreary  uplands  it 
was  destined  that  the  power  of  the  Inca  Empire 
should  pass  away  in  so  melancholy  a  fashion,  it 
would  seem  that  fate  had  here  a  similar  end  for 
the  empire  of  its  conquerors  in  store.  Eor  are  not 
the  fateful  names  of  Junin  and  Ayacucho  stamped 
upon  the  face  of  this  Cordillera  region?  Here  the 
Royalists  of  Spain  made  their  last  stand. 

We  cannot  enter  upon  the  details  of  Spain's 
downfall.  From  its  history  stand  out  the  famous 
names  of  San  Martin,  with  his  march  across  the 
Andes  from  Argentine  into  Chile ;  Bolivar,  and 
his  equally  or  more  renowned  march  across  the 
Northern  Andes  ;  Cochrane,  the  English  admiral, 
and  his  operations  on  the  coast ;  Sucre,  La  Serna, 
and  others.  At  the  Battle  of  Junin  the  Royalist 
leader  of  the  Spanish  forces  was  defeated.  Cuzco, 
the  last  stronghold  of  Spain  in  South  America,  fell . 
Then  came  the  historic  Battle  of  Ayacucho.  The 
patriots — Peruvians,  Chileans  and  some  Argentines 
— numbered  some  six  thousand ;  the  Royalists 


DEFEAT  OF  THE  SPANIARDS      265 

nine  thousand.  The  Royalists  were  utterly  routed, 
fifteen  hundred  were  slain :  the  viceroy,  his 
generals,  officers  and  army  were  captured.  It  was 
hailed  as  a  providential  victory  for  freedom ;  a 
new  life  after  three  hundred  years  of  Spanish 
domination,  and  the  colours  of  Iberia  flew  no  more 
upon  the  Cordillera. 


CHAPTER    VIII 
THE  CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

IN   BOLIVIA,   CHILE   AND   ARGENTINA 

STILL  threading  the  high  region  of  the  Andes, 
our  journey  takes  us  into  Bolivia,  that  compara- 
tively little-known  Republic. 

Neither  topographically  nor  historically  is  there 
any  marked  change  from  Peru  to  Bolivia.  Both 
countries  occupy  the  "  roof  of  the  world  "  here, 
the  chain  and  uplands  of  the  Cordillera,  although, 
if  such  were  possible,  the  punas,  or  steppes,  of 
Bolivia  are  even  more  inclement  than  the  corre- 
sponding antiplanicies  of  Peru. 

Bolivia  has,  indeed,  been  termed  the  Tibet  of 
America,  where  the  yak  is  replaced  by  the  llama. 
But  it  would  be  unjust  to  compare  the  one  with 
the  other  as  regards  the  human  element,  for  the 
Andine  Republic  is  peopled,  or  at  least  administered 
and  animated,  by  the  sensitive  and  progressive 
Spanish  American  civilization,  and  is  not  an  old 
or  decadent  land,  but,  on  the  contrary,  has  all  its 
life  before  it. 

The  highlands,  we  have  said,  are  a  continua- 
tion of  those  of  Peru.  In  both  countries,  as  well 


266 


BOLIVIA  267 

as  in  Northern  Chile,  we  shall  remark  on  our 
mountain  expedition  the  herds  of  beautiful  vicuna, 
fleet  as  the  wind,  living  where  nothing  else  will 
live,  yielding  a  soft,  tawny  fur  or  skin,  a  boa 
of  which  is  indeed  a  comforter  around  one's  neck 
as  a  protection  against  the  keen  air  of  the  heights. 
In  the  ramparts  oif  the  rocks  myriads  of  viscachas 
squirrels,  or  rather  conies,  have  their  home,  and 
it  is  a  swift  shot  that  will  secure  one  for  the 
evening  meal. 

Of  the  stupendous  snowy  peaks  of  Bolivia  we 
have  already  spoken.  There  arise  Sorata  and 
Illimani,  highest — with  Huascaran  and  Coropuna, 
in  Peru,  and  Aconcagua,  in  Chile,  all  near  or  over 
23,000  feet— on  the  American  Continent.  Few 
travellers  approach  or  ascend  these  mountains, 
whose  beauties  the  inhabitants  themselves  generally 
prefer  to  contemplate  from  afar. 

Bolivia  is  generally  regarded  as  a  "  mountain 
republic,"  remote,  inaccessible,  backward.  Such 
a  concept  requires  some  modification.  It  is  true 
that  the  country,  deprived  of  its  seaboard,  has  its 
population  and  centres  of  life  mainly  upon  the 
Andes,  that  its  population  is  relatively  small  in 
comparison  with  those  of  its  neighbours,  and  con- 
sists to  a  larger  degree  of  the  Indian  element. 
But  it  is  not  all  mountain,  nor  all  Indian  folk. 
A  considerable  area  of  the  Republic  extends  to 
the  lowlands  of  the  Amazon  Valley  (and  to  the 
Plate),  including  those  delightful  sub-valleys  and 
hill-slopes  which  Nature,  by  reason  of  climate  and 
vegetation,  has  rendered  of  the  most  pleasant.  As 


268      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

for  the  people,  we  find  here  the  same  Spanish 
American  civilization,  among  the  cultured  class 
that  is,  with  the  traits  and  gifts  common  to  their 
race.  As  for  the  Indian— that  is  their  social 
problem. 

La  Paz,  the  capital  of  Bolivia,  to  which  we  may 
have  ascended  by  rail  from  the  coast,  is  approached 
almost  unawares.  There  is  nothing  to  foretell, 
as  we  cross  the  barren  plains  from  Viacha,  that 
so  important  a  place  will  shortly  be  displayed 
to  the  view.  Suddenly  we  reach  the  Alto,  or 
"  Height,"  and  there,  far  below,  is  La  Paz,  reposing 
in  the  mighy  amphitheatre  of  its  abrupt  valley. 
Before  the  train  descends  from  the  verge  it  is  well 
to  look  again  upon  IllimJani,  Huayna-Potosi,  and 
another  giant,  Mururata,  whose  snowy  peaks  reflect 
the  colour  of  the  sunset,  bathed  in  an  atmosphere 
so  limpid  that  their  distant  slopes  are  brought  to 
deceptive  nearness. 

The  Valley  of  La  Paz  has  the  aspect  of  a  vast 
crater,  its  floor  lying  over  12,000  feet  above  sea- 
level.  Its  buildings  and  institutions  merit  the 
traveller's  attention.  Its  pleasing  alameda  and 
other  planted  or  cultivated  areas  are  a  relief  after 
the  dreary  and  forbidding  aspect  of  the  valley 
around,  with  its  scarred  and  precipitous  sides. 
Who  could  have  founded  a  city  here,  and  why? 

La  Paz  was  founded  by  Alonzo  de  Mendoza  in 
1548,  and  first  named  to  commemorate  the 
temporary  reconciliation  between  Pizarro  and 
Almagro,  who  had  grievously  quarrelled.  The 
cathedral  was  begun  in  the  seventeenth  century, 


LA  PAZ  269 

when  the  famous  mines  of  Potosi  were  at  their 
height  of  productiveness.     Some  of  the  streets  are 
of  the  most  winding  character  possible,  and  many 
of  them  reflect  the  poverty  of  their  Indian  dwellers. 
Others  are  full  of  animation,  constantly  threaded 
by    caravans    of    llamas,    asses    and    mules,    and 
thronged   by   a   many-hued   population   of   pure- 
blooded  Indians,  with  garments  negligent  but  pic- 
turesque ;     Cholas,    or    half-breed    women,   often 
extremely     pretty,     dressed     in     vivid     colours, 
coquettish,  wearing  their  home-made  hats  of  white 
felt ;    and  townsmen  of  white  race,  ladies  of  La 
Paz,(     and    European    folk :     in    brief,    all    the 
elements  we  shall  have  seen  in  the  upland  towns 
of  Spanish  America,  where  rich  and  poor  do  con- 
gregate together.     On  Sundays  the  animation  in- 
creases, for  this  is  the  day  of  markets,  and  piles 
of  wares  and   fruits  and  other  products   interest 
and  attract.     The  streets  are  electrically  lit.     In 
the  new  part  of  the  city  are  many  handsome  resi- 
dences and  evidences  of  wealth.     The  inevitable 
band  in  the  plaza  discourses  its  music,  and  the 
churches  command  their  usual  congregations .    The 
museums— mining     and     archaeological — show     a 
regard  for  science  here.     La  Paz  is  now  becoming 
a    comparatively    cosmopolitan    centre,    and    its 
interest  and  importance  most  undoubtedly  increase. 
The  Republic  of  Bolivia  took  its  name,  as   a 
token    of     gratitude,     from     Bolivar,    the     great 
Liberator.     Since  his  time,  from   1825  to    1913, 
it   has    had   seventy-one   different   presidents,    an 
average  of  a  little  over  one  per  annum,  an  indica- 


270      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

tion  either  of  an  experimental  outlook  towards  self- 
government  or  of  chronic  unrest,  whichever  way 
we  may  prefer  to  view  it.  It  is  difficult  for  a 
European  to  comprehend  the  disabilities  and 
difficulties  of  such  a  community,  and  criticism  is 
easy.  But  we  may  again  reflect  that  their  future 
lies  before  these  remote  States,  and  that  their 
human  vitality  and  natural  resource  are  storehouses 
for  the  future,  not  depleted- or  derelict. 

To  the  observant  foreigner  perhaps  the  most 
interesting  human  element  in  the  Andes  is  that 
of  the  Indians.  They  are  the  true  children  of 
the  soil,  Nature's  product  unadulterated,  the 
specimen  of  her  human  handiwork  in  this  special 
environment.  They  hide  nothing,  they  expect 
nothing  from  her.  But  if  the  future  lies  before 
them  they  are  nevertheless  obsessed  with  their  past . 
They  are  a  raza  conquistada,  as  their  masters  term 
them— a  conquered  race.  They  may  not  always  be 
so.  Different  writers  take  different  views  of  them. 

In  Peru  the  natives  of  these  uplands  are  the 
Quechuas ;  in  Bolivia,  the  Quechuas  and  the 
Aymaras.  These  two  differ  somewhat  in  their 
habits  and  temperament.  There  are,  in  addition, 
a  number  of  savage  tribes,  mostly  in  the  forested 
regions . 

"  The  Aymaras,  one  of  the  principal  ethnical 
elements  of  the  Bolivian  nation,  are  found  in  the 
north,  as  far  as  Peruvian  territory,  on  the  banks, 
islands  and  peninsulas  of  Lake  Titicaca,  and 
on  the  plateau  as  far  south  as  Oruro.  The 


THE  AYMARAS  271 

Quechuas  occupy  the  south  and  the  north  of  the 
Argentine. 

"  Between  these  two  races  there  is  a  difference 
of  type  and  a  greater  difference  of  character.  The 
Aymara  is  a  little  above  the  average  height,  has 
the  chest  strongly  developed,  the  calves  powerful, 
and  the  feet  small.  The  features  are  not  on  the 
whole  attractive  ;  they  are  prominent,  and  indi- 
cative neither  of  intelligence  nor  goodwill.  The 
head  is  large,  the  neck  short  and  thick,  the  cheeks 
wide,  the  nose  massive ;  the  eyes  are  small,  the 
mouth  wide,  and  the  lips  thick.  The  colour  is 
coppery  or  an  olive -brown,  varying  with  the  alti- 
tude. The  hair  is  black,  thick  and  strong,  but 
the  beard  is  absolutely  lacking. 

'*  While  the  Quechua  is  docile,  submissive  and 
obedient,  the  Aymara  is  hard,  vindictive,  bellicose, 
rebellious,  egotistical,  cruel  and  jealous  of  his 
liberty;  he  is  always  ready  to  resort  to  force. 
In  times  of  disturbance  the,  factions  have  always 
recruited  the  bulk  of  their  fighters  from  the 
Aymaras.  Yet  they  seem  lacking  in  will,  except 
the  will  to  hate  all  that  is  unlike  themselves.  The 
Aymara  is  also  fanatical,  and  his  is  not  the  fanati- 
cism of  religion,  but  of  vanity ;  he  wants  to  cut 
a  figure  in  the  religious  fetes,  which  are  not  unlike 
orgies  of  idolatry,  and  are  marked  by  alcoholic 
and  moral  excesses  of  every  kind. 

'  The  plateaux  are  always  cool,  so  the  Aymara 
wears  a  comparatively  warm  costume,  consisting 
of  a  thick  woollen  shirt  and  a  poncho  of  many 
colours,  with  dark,  narrow  breeches  coming  just 


272     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

below  the  knee.  The  legs  are  bare,  and  the  feet 
equally  so,  or  are  shod  with  sandals  of  raw  hide. 
The  Aymara,  like  the  Tibetan,  another  dweller 
in  plateaux,  is  insensible  to  cold ;  he  sleeps  bare- 
footed in  the  hardest  frosts,  and  walks  through 
freezing  water  or  over  ice  without  apparent  in- 
convenience. On  days  of  festival  the  Aymara 
replaces  the  poncho  by  a  sort  of  tight -fitting  tunic. 
The  head  is  well  covered  with  a  large  woollen 
bonnet,  which  protects  the  neck  and  ears.  The 
women  also  wear  a  shirt  or  chemise  of  thick  wool 
or  cotton,  over  which  they  throw  a  mantle  of 
coarse,  heavy  wool,  striped  with  bright  colours, 
and  retained  on  the  chest  by  a  sort  of  spoon  of 
silver  or  copper,  the  slender  handle  serving  as 
a  pin.  A  heavy  woollen  petticoat,  pleated  in  front, 
and  usually  dyed  a  dark  blue,  covers  the  lower 
part  of  the  body  to  the  ankles.  The  Aymara 
woman  wears  several  of  these  petticoats  super- 
imposed, which  gives  her  a  very  bulky  look  about 
the  hips.  A  somewhat  unattractive  hat  completes 
the  costume.  Men  and  women  alike  having  a 
perfect  contempt  for  hygiene,  all  parts  of  the  body 
are  coated  with  a  respectable  layer  of  dirt.  Their 
clothes,  which  they  never  put  off,  even  to  sleep,  are 
worn  until  they  fall  into  tatters,  and  usually  give 
off  a  disagreeable  ammoniacal  odour. 

"  The  Aymara  tongue  differs  from  the  Quechua  ; 
it  is  a  harsh,  guttural  idiom,  rather  formless,  but 
having  conjugations.  It  is  forcible  and  concise. 
The  peoples  conquered  by  the  Quechuas  learned 
the  language  of  their  conquerors  ;  but  the  Aymaras 


THE  QUECHUAS  273 

retained  theirs,  and  when  the  Spaniards  conquered 
the  country,  the  Aymaras,  who  had  long  been  a 
subject  race,  were  decadent  and  diminishing  in 
numbers . 

"By  the  innumerable  vestiges  of  building  and 
the  tombs  near  Lake  Titicaca  we  may  judge  that 
this  country  was  once  thickly  populated.  But  the 
plains  afforded  no  refuge,  and  the  inhabitants  could 
not  escape  the  forced  recruiting  which  supplied  the 
mining  centres.  At  the  time  of  Tupac-Amaru's 
insurrection  the  Aymaras,  happy  to  reconquer 
their  liberty,  or  perhaps  merely  to  effect  a  change 
of  masters  and  to  satisfy  their  bellicose  instincts, 
threw  themselves  into  the  revolt ;  whereupon  war, 
sickness  and  famine  considerably  reduced  their 
numbers.  To-day  they  are  estimated  to  be  about 
400,000  strong.  i 

"  The  Aymaras  are  divided  into  six  tribes, 
according  to  the  regions  they  inhabit.  These  are 
the  Omasuyos,  the  Pacasas,  the  Sicasicas,  the 
Larecajas,  the  Carangas,  and  the  Yungas.  The 
Aymaras  of  the  provinces  of  Yungas,  Larecaja, 
and  Munecas  are  lighter  in  tint,  cleaner,  more  in- 
telligent and  less  uncouth  than  the  rest. 

"  The  Quechua  race,  whose  numbers  are 
greater,  are  found  in  many  regions  of  Bolivia. 
The  Quechua  is  lighter  and  yellower  than  the 
Aymara,  and  more  of  a  Mongolian  type.  The 
features  are  irregular,  the  eyes  black,  the  cheek- 
bones prominent ;  the  narrow  forehead  is  slightly 
protuberant,  and  the  skull  oblong;  the  mouth  is 
wide  and  the  nose  massive.  The  stature  is  rather 

VOL.   I.  18 


274      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

below  the  average,  but  there  are  tall  individuals, 
who  as  a  rule  resemble  the  Aymara  type.  Solidly 
built,  the  Quechua  looks  a  powerful  and  muscular 
man ;  but  as  from  childhood  both  sexes  are  used 
to  carrying  extremely  heavy  burdens  on  the  back 
they  are  not  really  very  strong  in  the  limbs, 
although  the  shoulders  are  very  powerful.  The 
Indian  is  an  extraordinary  walker ;  his  legs  of 
steel  enable  him  to  travel  long  distances  in  moun- 
tainous regions  without  the  lea,st  fatigue.  The 
women  are  even  stronger  than  the  men,  their  work 
being  heavier,  although  they  live  practically  the 
same  life.  | 

"  The  Quechua  costume  consists  of  a  coloured 
poncho,  a  tight  woollen  vest,  and  breeches  rarely 
falling  below  the  knee ;  the  feet  are  shod  with 
ojotas,  or  rawhide  sandals,  which  take  the  shape 
of  the  foot.  The  woman  wears  a  small  woollen 
vest,  cut  low  on  the  bosom ;  the  skirt  is  the  same 
as  that  worn  by  the  Aymara  women ;  and  on  a 
feast-day  the  Quechua  woman  wears  all  the  petti- 
coats she  possesses,  one  over  another.  As  they  are 
all  of  equal  length,  each  shows  the  edge  of  that 
below  it,  whence  a  gamut  of  various  colours. 
The  Quechua  women  are  distinguished  from  the 
Aymaras  chiefly  by  their  hats,  which  are  flatter. 

"  The  Quechua  idiom  is  extremely  rich  and  has 
been  studied  grammatically. 

"  The  Indian  race  has  never  been  assimilated ; 
as  it  was  at  the  moment  of  conquest,  so  it  is 
now  ;  with  the  same  language,  the  same  customs, 
and  the  same  miserable  dwellings,  hardly  fit  to 


INDIAN  MELANCHOLY  275 

shelter  beasts.  Isolated  and  solitary,  or  gathered 
into  hamlets  of  a  few1  cabins,  they  are  merely 
conical  huts  of  unbaked  bricks,  covered  with 
thatch  or  reeds,  and  consisting  of  one  small 
chamber,  in  which  all  the  members  of  the  family 
live  in  the  completest  promiscuity.  These  huts,  in 
which  the  most  wretched  poverty  and  uncleanliness 
reign  supreme,  contain  nothing  that  we  should  call 
furniture ;  as  a  rule  there  is  no  bed  but  the 
hardened  soil  or  a  few  coverings  of  ragged 
sheepskin."  l 

The  principal  vice  of  the  Indian  is  drink,  both' 
with  men  and  women.  Perhaps  it  drowns  reflec- 
tion—race-sorrow.  But,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Mexicans  and  all  others  of  the  brown  race,  this 
excess  is  not  the  fault  alone  of  the  drinker.  The 
producing  of  alcohol  is,  in  many  cases,  a  lucrative 
trade  for  those  above  him,  the  large  growers  of 
cane  or  other  alcohol -yielding  plants.  Legislation, 
moreover,  against  the  evil,  if  it  be  necessary  in 
other  lands— for  example,  the  United  States  or 
Britain— is  surely  necessary  with  the  ignorant 
Indian. 

The  Indian  is,  as  has  been  said,  melancholy. 
He  rarely  laughs,  except  when  he  is  drunk. 
Perhaps  this  is  partly  due  to  the  melancholy  en- 
vironment of  the  Cordillera ;  perhaps  the  result 
of  his  practical  enslavement  and  the  downfall  of 
his  race. 

Melancholy   and   music    are   here   akin.      The 

i  See  Bolivia,  Wall6,  South  American  Series. 


276      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

Indians  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  have  always  been 
lovers  of  their  national  music— veritably  the  music 
of  the  Andes.  They  have  many  curious  musical 
instruments,  many  weird  songs  and  musical 
laments.  Reed  flutes  or  pipes  and  a  species  of 
guitar  are  among  the  principal  of  these  instruments . 
The  Bolivian  Indian  has  a  good  ear  for  music, 
and,  it  is  said,  will  execute  any  piece  of  classical 
music  with  precision.  The  military  bands  of  Bolivia 
are  mostly  composed  of  Indians . 

"  The  Bolivian  Indian  is  also  remarkable  for 
his  ability  to  execute  long  passages  on  wind  in- 
struments. Even  while  dancing  he  can  blow  the 
quena  or  the  zampona,  which  shows  the  vigour 
of  his  lungs,  a  quality  due  to  the  altitudes  in  which1 
he  lives.  Few  inhabitants  of  ordinary  altitudes 
could  endure  such  a  test. 

"  Native  music  is  usually  soft,  plaintive  and 
na'ive ;  its  tremulous  notes,  often  repeated  five  or 
six  times  in  a  minor  key,  swell  and  die  in  a  monoto- 
nous rhythm  which,  to  European  ears,  becomes 
tedious.  Never  do  the  instruments  or  the  songs 
of  the  Indian  suggest  an  idea  of  gaiety,  but 
always  a  profound  melancholy,  the  idea  of  extreme 
unhappiness  and  the  wretchedness  of  a  dis- 
ordered mind. 

"  However,  for  one  reason  or  another  the 
Indians  are  now  rather  improving  their  music  ;  and 
in  many  parts  one  notes  unmistakable  efforts  to 
imitate  and  adapt  the  foreign  conceptions  of  music 
and  to  mingle  them  with  their  favourite  native 


INDIAN  MUSIC  277 

airs.  The  latter  do  not  lose  their  melancholy, 
but  are  even  more  affecting. 

"  Despite  these  improvements,  which  are  not 
general,  the  traveller  is  always  greatly  impressed 
when,  as  he  journeys  through  the  mountainous 
regions,  surrounded  on  every  hand  by  gloomy 
masses  without  horizon,  he  hears,  suddenly,  at  the 
fall  of  night,  rising  near  at  hand  in  the  midst  of 
a  profound  silence,  the  long1  mournful  notes  of 
the  quena,  like  a  long  and  profound  complaint, 
which  echo  repeats  in  distant  sobs.  Sometimes 
the  flute  is  accompanied  by  the  measured  taps  of 
a  drum  or  tambourine,  and  sometimes  it  accom- 
panies a  song,  monotonous  and  guttural  as  the 
songs  of  the  Arabs  ;  sounds  inspiring  sombre 
thoughts  and  provoking  a  shudder  of  melancholy 
in  the  stranger  who  hears  them  for  the  first  time. 
The  quena,  indeed,  produces  sounds  of  a  sinister 
melancholy ;  one  manner  of  playing  it  consists  of 
introducing  it  into  a  great  crock  of  earthenware 
pierced  with  a  hole  on  either  side  so  that  the 
hands  may  be  introduced  ;  and  when  so  played  it 
yields  notes  of  sepulchral  sonority.  In  all  the 
arsenal  of  human  music  it  would  perhaps  be  impos- 
sible to  discover  more  doleful  bounds. 

"  When  this  primitive  music  seeks  to  interpret 
a  comparatively  calm  and  cheerful  frame  of  mind 
it  is  certainly  a  little  more  inspiriting,  but  some 
of  its  notes  are  still  like  the  moans  of  a  stricken 
soul . 

'  The  native  dances  are  for  the  most  part 
common  to  both  Aymaras  and  Quechuas.  The 


278      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

most  ridiculous  and  grotesque  of  these,  on  account 
of  the  extravagant  costumes  worn  by  the  dancers, 
are  the  Danzantes,  the  Huacas-Tocoris,  the 
Pacoches,  the  Morenos,  the  Tundiques  and  others 
yet,  such  as  the  Sicuris  and  the  Chiriguano. 

"  This  last  is  a  war-dance ;  the  dancers  wear 
each  the  skin  of  a  jaguar,  or  something  resembling 
one  ;  each  carries  a  heavy  stick ;  the  music  is 
harsh  and  warlike.  The  sicuri  is  danced  by  a 
group  of  fourteen  Indians,  wearing  petticoats  of 
white  cotton  cloth;  von  the  head  of  each  is  a  hat 
adorned  with  long  feathers,  the  whole  having  the 
shape  of  an  umbrella ;  they  wear  tambourines  at 
their  girdles  and  play  the  zampona,  using  two  in- 
struments. The  huaca-tocoris  or  toros  danzantes 
is  performed  during  the  fetes  of  Corpus.  A 
wooden  framework  covered  with  hide  vaguely 
represents  a  bull ;  in  the  back  of  the  beast  is  a 
hole  through  which  the  dancer  introduces  his 
body ;  his  face  smeared  with  soot,  and  clad  in 
the  following  costume  :  white  breeches,  an  old  coat, 
a  red  poncho,  and  a  hat  bearing  a  semicircular 
crown  of  feathers.  To  imitate  a  bull-fighter 
another  dancer  brandishes  a  wooden  sword  in  one 
hand  and  waves  a  handkerchief  with  the  other. 

"  The  commonest  dance  among  the  Indians  is 
a  slow,  almost  automatic  rondo,  the  head  con- 
tinually rising  and  falling  and  turning  from  side 
to  side.  In  another  dance  the  dancers  form 
couples,  keeping  their  ground,  and  facing  one 
another,  accelerating  their  steps  only  at  the  end  of 
each  figure. 


INDIAN  POETRY  279 

"  During  Lent  the  rnajority  of  the  natives  do 
not  employ  any  instrumental  music,  but,  on  the 
other  hand,  they  attend  nocturnal  gatherings  known 
as  chochus,  at  which  young  people  of  both  sexes 
dance  round  a  cross  and  sing  psalms.  There  is 
absolutely  nothing  edifying  about  these  functions, 
those  taking  part  in  them  displaying  a  most  dis- 
concerting cynicism.  On  Easter  Day  the  Indians 
wear  their  gala  costumes,  and  ornament  their  hats 
with  flowers  and  ribbons ;  they  make  up  for  their 
forty  days'  silence,  and  fill  the  air  with  the  sound 
of  quenas,  sicus  and  tambourines.  But  even  while 
dancing  they  are  never  gay ;  their  sombre  natures 
unbend  only  under  the  influence  of  drink. 

"  Among  the  strange  and  savage  customs  of 
the  natives,  we  must  not  forget  to  mention  the 
fights  with  whips  which  take  place  in  certain  pro- 
vinces on  Good  Friday.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
procession  of  the  Sepulchre  the  Indians  build  altars 
along  the  route  of  the  procession .  The  latter  takes 
place  always  at  night.  Once  it  is  over  the 
altars  are  demolished  by  two  separate  groups— the 
Huarcas  and  the  Incas,  who  at  once  begin  to  strive 
for  victory.  The  two  groups  then  assemble  in 
the  public  place  or  square,  and  lash  one  another 
with  implacable  ardour.  Triumph  or  failure  is  a 
good  or  bad  omen  for  the  year's  harvest. 

"  Poetical  songs,  accompanied  on  the  quechua, 
are  known  as  yaravis.  They  are  greatly  appreciated 
by  the  natives.  The  Quechua  yaravis  have  been 
to  some  extent  improved  by  the  modern  Bolivians. 
They  are  usually  a  species  of  round,  with  a  good 


280     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

deal  of  repetition ;  each  stanza  has  four  to  ten 
lines.  These  songs  reflect  the  dreamy  and  sombre 
character  of  the  race.  Love  is  always  their  sub- 
ject ;  a  melancholy,  plaintive  and  monotonous 
passion.'  ' 

'  The  Bolivian  Indian  usually  provides  for  his 
modest  needs  in  his  own  way ;  ignorant  of  the 
advantages  of  the  division  of  labour,  he  weaves 
the  cloth  of  his  own  garments — mantle,  breeches, 
or  vest— and  makes  his  hat  and  sandals  himself. 
His  chief  occupations  are  agriculture  and  stock- 
raising  ;  but  he  is  indolent,  thriftless,  imprudent 
and,  above  all,  an  obstinate  conservative ;  so  he 
confines  himself  to  growing  a  few  potatoes,  a  little 
barley,  qtiinua,  or  oca,  just  as  much  as  he  needs 
to  keep  him  alive.  The  land,  cultivated  by  the 
most  primitive  of  means — for  the  Indian  will  never 
accept  any  innovation,  however  practical  and  ex- 
cellent— is  generally  very  limited  in  extent,  unless 
the  neighbourhood  of  a  city  of  a  mine  calls  for 
a  greater  production  than  usual.  Moreover,  thou- 
sands of  Indians  are  taken  away  from  their  fields 
by  all  manner  of  tasks— by  the  necessity  of 
transporting  merchandise,  provisions,  machinery, 
etc.,  on  the  backs  of  mules,  asses,  llamas  and 
even  men,  in  'countries  innocent  of  other  means  of 
transport,  to  the  mines  and  factories  established 
in  barren  and  uncultivated  regions. 

"  Both  the  Aymaras  and  the  Quechuas  keep 
little  herds  of  llamas,  alpacas  or  sheep  whenever 
possible,  as  their  care  calls  for  less  labour  than 
the  raising  of  crops.  A  few  fowls  and  other  birds 


INDIAN   INDUSTRIES  281 

give  them  eggs,  a  few  pigs  furnish  leather,  meat 
and  fat ;  they  have  the  wool  of  their  llamas  and 
sheep,  and  they  utilize  even  the  excrement  of  the 
former  as  a  combustible,  as  the  Tibetans  do  that 
of  the  yak.  A  mule  or  a  donkey  grazes  round 
the  Indian's  hut.  From  the  age  of  four  or  five 
years  the  Indian  guards  the  little  herd  of  swine 
belonging  to  his  parents ;  a  little  later  he  grazes 
their  sheep  among  the  mountains,  where  by  means 
of  his  quena,  zampona  or  cicus  he  learns  to  play 
melancholy  airs. 

"  On  the  produce  of  his  crops  and  his  herds  he 
lives  in  poverty,  leaving  the  mountains  or  the  plain 
only  to  exchange  some  of  his  products  for  coca 
or  brandy.  The  woman  is  rarely  idle;  whether  in 
the  market,  or  loitering  over  her  household  tasks, 
or  even  as  she  walks,  one  sees  her  always  spinning 
the  wool  of  the  llama  or  the  sheep  of  which  her 
garments  are  made. 

'  The  Bolivian  Indian  in  general  excels  in  carry- 
ing loads,  in  spite  of  the  lack  of  tolerable  high- 
ways, covering  daily  stages  of  twenty  to  thirty 
miles.  The  average  load  is  66  to  80  Ib.  With 
his  shoulders  free  his  speed  and  endurance  are 
amazing ;  he  will  cover  fifty  miles  a  day  for 
several  days  on  end,  and  without  feeling  ex- 
hausted, unless  for  some  reason  he  wishes  to  seem 
so.  We  have  seen  Indians  follow  or  accompany 
the  coach  or  the  mule  which  bore  us,  at  the  trot, 
shouting  or  blowing  a  pan-pipe ;  and  at  night 
they  seemed  less  eager  to  rest  than  our  mules  or 
ourselves. 


282      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

1  The  Indian  is  to-day  little  better  off  than  he 
was  under  Spanish  rule.  Since  the  proclamation 
of  Bolivar,  which  declared  him  capable  of  holding 
property,  many  Governments  have  passed  laws  in- 
tended to  protect  the  Indian  ;  but  they  have  either 
remained  ineffective  or  they  have  been  overlooked 
and  violated  by  the  very  officials  whose  duty  it  was 
to  apply  them."  r 

The  Cholo,  or  half-breed,  race  of  the  Cordil- 
lera— or  indeed  the  lowlands — is,  after  the  Indian, 
the  most  numerous  element  in  the  population. 
These  folk  unite  the  qualities  of  the  Spaniard  and 
the  aboriginal. 

*'  The  Cholos  of  Bolivia  possess  excellent  quali- 
ties. They  are  robust  and  well-built  physically; 
they  are  courteous  and  intelligent,  rapidly  acquiring 
all  sorts  of  knowledge  ;  they  are,  as  a  rule,  proud 
and  courageous,  and,  like  the  Indians,  make  ex- 
cellent soldiers.  They  are  good  industrial 
workers;  many  become  foremen  and  artisans. 
But  they  are  also,  like  the  Indian  race  from  which 
they  have  sprung,  avid  of  pleasure,  with  a  strong 
inclination  to  idleness  and  alcohol.  They  pro- 
foundly despise  the  Indians,  whose  worst  enemies 
they  are ;  and  they  have  always  retained  the 
Indian's  timidity  or  servility  toward  the  white 
man.  Like  the  Indians,  they  are  often  lacking  in 
energy,  will-power  and  commercial  or  agricultural 
initiative. 

1  Bolivia,  loc.  cit. 


CHOLA  WOMEN  283 

"  The  Choi os,  except  in  the  poor  and  backward 
classes  of  society,  are  in  no  wise  distinguishable, 
as  to  costume,  from  the  white  inhabitants.  The 
women,  or  Cholas,  many  of  whom  are  extremely 
pretty,  are  generally  well  made,  with  small  hands 
and  feet ;  their  costume  is  conspicuous  and  charac- 
teristic. The  Cholas  of  the  more  well-to-do 
classes  are  always  extremely  well  shod,  wearing 
high-laced  boots  with  high  heels,  made  of  leather 
soft  as  a  glove  and  of  a  light  shade.  These  boots 
show  off  the  foot  and  a  shapely  leg,  clad  in  well- 
fitting  stockings.  The  head  is  protected  by  a  round 
hat  of  whitish  felt,  two  black  tresses  falling  down 
the  back.  On  the  shoulders  they  wear  light  shawls, 
white  or  of  some  other  bright  colour,  of  silk  or 
other  material,  which  covers  a  low-cut  bodice  worn 
over  a  short  white  pleated  skirt,  beneath  which 
is  a  white  petticoat  edged  with  lace,  which  is 
slightly  longer  than  the  skirt.  As  the  skirt  is 
gathered  on  the  hips,  which  are  thus  enlarged,  and 
the  bottom  of  the  skirt  is  weighted,  it  sways  as 
the  wearer  walks  like  the  skirt  of  a  dancer.  The 
whole  costume  has  a  rather  pleasing  effect. 

'  The  Cholas  of  the  lower  classes  wear  the  same 
hat,  the  same  coiffure,  and  a  skirt  of  heavy  woollen 
stuff,  gathered  on  the  hips,  but  no  laced  petticoat. 
The  legs  are  bare  and  the  feet  are  shod  with 
sandals  or  cheap  shoes. 

"  Hygiene  is  not  always  respected  by  the  half- 
breeds  of  the  lower  classes,  who  are  very  super- 
stitious. They  bathe,  it  seems,  only  on  odd  dates, 
and  more  particularly  on  the  Qth,  i;th  or  2ist, 


284     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

otherwise  they  would  be  ill  the  rest  of  the  year ; 
and  one  must  never  take  more  than  twenty-one 
baths  in  the  year,  or  the  same  results  would  follow. 

"  The  Cholos  are  in  the  minority  in  the  country 
districts,  but  live,  as  a  rule,  in  the  towns  and 
cantons.  Since  they  have  participated  directly  and 
ardently  in  politics,  they  profess  to  live,  if  not  for, 
at  least  by  the  State,  and  have  a  perfect  passion 
for  bureaucracy.  In  the  towns  and  capitals  the 
Cholos  more  especially  enter  the  Army  and  the 
Church,  and  lately  have  also  become  schoolmasters . 
There  are  very,  distinguished  men  among  the  half- 
breeds,  whose  degree  of  education  varies.  At  all 
times  this  class  has  furnished  really  remarkable 
statesmen  and  writers  of  talent. 

*'  On  account  of  the  many  crossings  which  have 
taken  place,  and  are  still  taking  place,  it  is  not 
always  possible,  without  great  perspicacity,  to  dis- 
tinguish a  member  of  the  white  race  from*  one  of 
the  superior  classes  of  half-breeds.  All  Bolivians 
are  very  much  alike  physically,  and  the  singular 
yellowish  tint  to  be  observed  in  the  cornea  of  the 
mixed  race,  a  noticeable  and  tenacious  charac- 
teristic of  the  Indian,  and  one  that  often  persists 
to  the  third  and  fourth  generation,  at  last  entirely 
disappears.  The  colour  of  the  skin  is  not  a  certain 
indication,  for  it  depends  upon  the  local 
conditions . 

"  We  are  of  opinion,  and  many  agree  with  us, 
that  the  future  of  the  half-breed  race  is  hence- 
forth assured ;  that  in  years  to  come,  when  it  is 
still  further  improved  by  the  admixture  of  fresh 


CONDITIONS  OF  LIFE  285 

blood,  it  will  play  a  very  prominent  and  active 
part  in  the  national  life.  Already  the  half-breeds, 
who  are  more  numerous  than  the  whites,  and 
almost  as  numerous  as  the  Indians,  are  beginning 
to  accumulate  capital  and  to  fill  important  posts 
in  commercial  houses.  A  half-breed  aristocracy 
is  in  process  of  formation,  which,  when  it  is  more 
numerous  and  more  wealthy,  when  it  has  lost  a 
little  of  its  indolence  and  timidity,  and  has  acquired 
greater  initiative  and  a  more  serious  education,  will 
no  longer  be  content  to  take  a  secondary  place. 
Little  by  little — and  examples  already  exist — it  will 
assume  the  direction  of  the  great  industrial  and 
commercial  undertakings,  and  we  shall  see  it  con- 
solidating its  numerical  and  financial  superiority 
by  assuming  the  political  direction  of  the  country, 
to  the  detriment  of  the  whites."  l 

I  have  dwelt  thus  lengthily  upon  the  Indian 
races  of  the  Cordillera  for  the  reason  that  they  have 
been  comparatively  little  studied,  and  are  indeed 
almost  unknown  to  the  outside  world  in  general. 
They  are  in  reality  a  valuable  folk,  mainly 
because  they  alone  can  perform  sustained  labour 
in  the  Cordillera,  due  to  the  condition  of  climate 
and  atmosphere.  If  they  disappear— and  they  do 
not  appear  tp  be  increasing— these  vast  uplands 
might  become  uninhabited  wildernesses.  They  are 
not  likely  to  increase  until  the  economic  condition 
of  their  lives  is  improved,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
the  heavy  mortality  among  infants  arrested. 

1  'Bolivia,  loc.  cit. 


286      CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

To  suppose  that  the  Indians  of  the  Cordillera 
are  incapable,  or  even  will  be  incapable,  of  re- 
ceiving a  higher  civilization  is  to  fall  into  a 
sociological  error.  The  governing  classes  of  these 
republics  often  assert  this,  however.  But  it  will 
depend  very  much  how  "  civilization  "  is  applied 
to  them.  They  are  capable  of  becoming  good 
mechanics  and  craftsmen,  they  are  extremely  care- 
ful and  painstaking,  as  the  intricacy  and  exquisite 
finish  often  of  their  native  arts  show  ;  they  imitate 
perhaps  better  than  they  initiate,  but  they  neverthe- 
less display  considerable  resource.  They  will  not 
be  herded  into  factories,  if  civilization  consists 
in  that.  They  are  independent,  and  prefer  to  work 
for  themselves. 

As  to  their  numbers,  if  we  take  the  combined 
population  of  Colombia,  Ecuador,  Peru  and 
Bolivia  at,  say,  twelve  to  thirteen  million  people, 
and  deduct  ten  to  twenty  per  cent,  for  the  whites 
and  mestizos,  we  shall  obtain  approximately  the 
number  of  these  real  sons  and  daughters  of  the 
soil  to-day,  mainly  upon  the  Cordillera. 

The  Cordillera  of  the  Andes  is,  we  might  fanci- 
fully say,  the  great  banker  of  the  West,  the  great 
guardian  of  gold  and  sliver,  the  father  of  minerals, 
and  the  progenitor  of  the  treasure  of  the  rocks. 
We  have  seen  that  Peru  is  a  land  fabulous  for  its 
mineral  wealth ;  Colombia,  far  to  the  north,  has 
only  lesser  stores  of  metals,  precious  or  base ; 
Ecuador  has  been  but  little  favoured  in  this  respect, 
but  nevertheless  has  a  famed  old  gold  mine  ;  Chile 
is  markedly  rich  in  almost  every  mineral.  But 


POTOSI  287 

Bolivia  perhaps  surpasses  all  these.  There  was  a 
famous  Peruvian  scientist  and  traveller,  of  Italian 
extraction— Raimondi — who  described  the  plateau 
of  Bolivia  as  "  a  table  of  silver  supported  by  a 
column  of  gold."  The  same  might  be  said  of 
Peru.  In  the  Cordillera  generally  we  find  gold 
in  the  lower  districts,  silver  in  the  higher.  It 
would  almost  seem  that  the  metals  have  some 
affinity  with  the  climate.  At  least  the  native  Peru- 
vian miner  says  that  "  the  gold  looks  for  the 
warmth,  the  silver  for  the  cold." 

Thus  in  the  cold  and  the  bleakness  of  the  high 
hills  do  we  find  the  white  metal  in  Bolivia  :  we 
find,  indeed,  two  white  metals  verging  upon  the 
regions  of  perpetual  snow — silver  and  tin. 

The  tin  mines,  indeed,  were  first  worked  for 
silver,  and  the  tin  ores  thrown  away. 

For  the  lore  of  silver -mining  let  us  ascend  to 
Potosi,  the  Silver  Mountain.  Its  summit  rises  in 
perfect  sugar-loaf  form  to  over  16,000  feet  above 
the  level  of  the  sea.  Upon  the  slopes  of  this 
wonderful  mountain,  some  2,000  or  3,000  feet 
lower  down,  stands  a  city,  founded  in  1545 
by  the  adventurous  Spaniards,  with  their  keen 
olfato,  or  instinct  for  gold  and  silver,  and  fifty 
years  later  150,000  folk  had  their  habitations 
there.  For  lodes  and  seams  of  the  richest  silver 
ore  lay  here— native  silver  and  others ;  and  the 
shell  of  the  mountain  quickly  became  honeycombed 
with  shafts  and  galleries.  Of  five  thousand  such, 
a  thousand  may  be  seen  to-day. 

All   classes  of  adventurers   flocked   to   Potosi. 


288     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

There  were  bankrupt  Spanish  nobles,  thinking  by 
a  lucky  stroke,  or  with  their  name  and  prestige, 
to  recoup  themselves ;  there  were  merchants, 
anxious  to  obtain  sudden  wealth ;  gamblers, 
thieves,  demi-mondaines  and  all  else,  and  Potosi 
became  a  centre  of  prodigality,  romantic  adven- 
ture, revelry  and  often  disorder.  Here  Spanish 
hidalgos  vied  with  each  other  in  squandering  for- 
tunes in  pleasure  and  ostentation,  matters  which 
caused  faction-strife  among  the  bands  into  which 
the  people  of  the  place  were  divided.  The  old 
chronicles  of  Potosi  are  very  interesting,  reveal- 
ing as  they  do  the  custom  of  those  times,  the 
superstition,  the  chivalry  and  all  else,  which  not 
even  the  high  and  solemn  environment  of  the  Cor- 
dillera could  dampen. 

To-day  an  English  mining  company  works  upon 
the  mountain,  striving  to  earn  dividends  for  its 
shareholders.  The  silver  is  far  from  being  ex- 
hausted, but  methods  of  recovery  fell  back ;  and 
the  low  value  of  silver  and  the  high  rate  of  wage 
demanded  by  the  miner  were  other  factors  in 
decadence . 

The  Potosi  mountain  was  not  a  possession  of 
the  Spaniard  alone.  It  has  a  metallurgical  in- 
terest more  remote.  A  traveller  in  the  Cordillera 
before  the  time  of  the  Conquest  might  have  seen, 
as  he  approached  the  spot  at  night,  a  number  of 
twinkling  lights  upon  the  slopes.  They  were  the 
fires  of  the  little  furnaces  in  which  the  Indians,  of 
the  Incas,  smelted  the  simpler  silver  ores,  the  winds 
of  the  Cordillera  furnishing  the  needful  blast ;  and 


'^K          *> 


MINING  IN  BOLIVIA  289 

these  furnaces  were  called  in  Quechua  Guayras, 
•which  word  means  "  the  wind."  It  is  said  that  at 
one  time  more  than  i  5,000  of  these  little  furnaces 
were  to  be  seen  upon  the  Silver  Mountain,  which 
reared  its  desolate  slopes  to  heaven,  but  was  a 
treasure-house  of  Nature. 

It  would  not  be  possible  here  to  dwell  on  the 
other  great  mines  of  Bolivia.1  The  mines  of 
Huanchaca,  with  their  great  installation  and  con- 
siderable population,  form  a  community  of  them- 
selves, and  have  produced  literally  thousands  of 
tons  of  silver.  In  winter,  buried  in  snow,  the 
place  looks  like  a  town  of  Northern  Europe  or 
Canada.  The  ores  are  first  sorted  by  women,  who 
are  expert  sorters  of  the  grey  argentiferous  copper 
ores  of  the  main  lode.  At  times  of  late  years 
nearly  half  a  million  pounds  sterling  have  been 
distributed  among  the  European  shareholders  of 
this  important  concern.  Sometimes  in  a  single 
month  as  much  as  seven  tons  of  silver  have  been 
produced. 

Silver  to-day  is  less  important  than  tin,  how- 
ever, which  has  become  the  principal  article  of 
Bolivian  export,  wrested  from  the  bleakest  places 
here  in  the  Andes,  as  is  the  copper  of  Chile. 

We  have  visited,  in  the  Cordillera  of  South 
America,  the  highest  inhabited  places  on  the  face 
of  the  globe. 

But  south  of  Bolivia  the  Andes  no  longer  offers 
a  place  for  the  homes  of  mankind,  for  towns 
and  populations,  such  as  Nature  has  provided  in 

»  An  excellent  account  will  be  found  in  Bolivia,  loc.  cit. 
VOL.  I.  19 


290     CORDILLERA  OF  THE  ANDES 

those  vast  regions  we  have  traversed.  The  Cor- 
dillera becomes  a  single  chain  or  ridge,  without 
intermediate  valleys  or  plateaux,  and  so  continues 
for  an  enormous  distance,  lowering  its  elevation 
by  degrees  towards  the  frigid  regions  of  the 
southern  extremity  of  the  continent,  where  its 
glaciers  veritably  run  down  into  the  bosom  of  the 
ocean.  Perhaps  the  Cordillera  has  sunk  here,  as 
its  "  drowned  "  valleys — the  fiords  of  the  south 
seem  to  indicate— sunk,  split  and  shattered  as  if 
Nature  had  done  enough  in  this  vast  range  running 
half  across  the  globe. 

If,  however,  the  Chilean  Cordillera  does  not 
offer  an  abiding  place  for  man,  it  nevertheless 
is  the  source  of  his  comfort  and  wealth,  for  the 
streams  which  flow  from  its  summits  irrigate  the 
fields  and  vineyards  of  Chile's  fruitful  vales  and 
Argentina's  productive  plains,  bringing  to  being 
corn,  wine  and  oil,  and  other  things  which  make 
glad  the  heart  of  man. 

The  Andes  form  the  dividing-line  between  Chile 
and  Argentina.  The  water-parting  was  adopted 
as  the  boundary  under  the  arbitration  of  King 
Edward  of  Britain.  A  remarkable  monument  has 
been  erected  in  Uspallata  Pass,  a  token  that  these 
two  nations  will  enter  into  conflict  no  more ;  a 
great  bronze  statue  of  Christ,  on  a  huge  pedestal 
—El  Cristo  de  los  Andes — standing  solitary  and 
majestic  amid  the  eternal  snows,  looking  out  over 
the  high  places  of  the  mighty  Cordillera. 


INDEX 


Aguascalientes,  104 

Alligators,  137 

Almagro,  190,  241 

Alvarado,  65,  119 

Amazon,  209,  229 

Americans,   83,   94,    114,    142, 

148,  149 
Andagoya,  156 
Andenes,  246 
Andes,  155,  160,  166,  209 
Antofagasta,  178 
Apaches,  104 
Araucanians,  194 
Archaeology,  59,  69,   138,  157, 

163,  164 
Areas,  33 
Arequipa,  177 
Argentina,  290 
Arica,  188 

Armchairs,  stone,  ancient,  157 
Arnica  plant,  137 
Arts,  native,  72 
Atahualpa,  236 
Ayacucho,  264 
Aymaras,  242,  270 
Aztecs,  13,  32,  57,  104,  160 

Bahamas,  41,  44 

Balboa,  63 

Bamboos,  159 

Bananas,  77,  104,  134 

Belize,  76 

Birds,  135,  137,  152,  159 

Bogata,  48 


Bolivar,  234,  266 

Bolivia,  20,  188 

Borax  Lake,  188 

Brazil,  21,  48 

British  Guiana,  21,  75 

British  Honduras,  21,  75 

Brown  labour     141,     see    also 

Indians 

Buenaventura,  155 
Bull-fights,  144 

Cacao,  see  Chocolate 

Cacti,  103,  134 

Cajamarca,  235 

Calendar  stone,  Mexican,  139 

Cali,  156 

California,  44,  147,  165 

Callao,  151,  1 66,  173 

Campeche,  136 

Carlota,  Empress,  147 

Carnival  time,  253 

Cathay,  40 

Cathedrals,  166 

Cauca  Valley,  156 

Central  America,  22 

Cerro  de  Pasco,  162 

Chihuahua,  104 

Chile,  20,  48,  164,  1 88,  266 

Chimborazo,  165,  218 

Chinese,  160 

Chocolate,  104,  134,  158 

Cholos,  170,  244,  282 

Cholula,  in 

Christ,  statue  of,  290 


391 


292 


INDEX 


Church  of  England,  33 
Church,   Roman  Catholic,   55, 

66 

Coal,  133,  163,  207 
Cochrane,  Admiral,  196,  264 
Coconuts,   77,   104,    134,    137, 

158 

Coffee,  77,  104,  159 
Colluahuassi,  182 
Colombia,  47,  50,  67,  87,  151 
Colour  line,  140 
Columbus,  34 
Concepcion,  196 
Concessionaries,  foreign,  145 
Condor,  260 
Conquest  of  Peru,  237 
Copper,  247 

Cordillera,  152,  162,  see  Andes 
Corinto,  81 
Cortes,  45 
Costa  Rica,  84 
Cotopaxi,  218 
Cotton,  77,  145,  163 
Creation  story,  66 
Cuba,  97 
Cuzco,  160,  223,  262 

Dances,  Indian,  278 
Darien,  63 
Davila,  64 
Demerara,  21 
Diaz,  101,  140 
Doctorate,  love  of  the,  169 
Don  Quixote,  161 
Drake,  52 

Dress  and  morals,  175 
Dress,  native,  254,  270 
Drink  evil,  275 
Durango,  104 
Dyewood,  77 

Earthquakes,  69,  171,  196 
Ecuador,  151,  216,  151 
Edward,  King,  20 
Elizabeth,  Queen,  88,  166 


English  in,  17-24,  75,  142,  180, 
204,  205,  261,  288 

Fibres,  77 

Fishing,  137 

Foreigners  in,  16,  115, 142,  204, 

255 

Forests,  see  Timber 
Fossils,  209 

Galapagos  Islands,  158 

Game,  38 

Garcia-Moreno,  234 

Germans,  162,  204 

Gold,  48,  77,  84,  154,  164,  256, 

etc. 

Golden  utensils,  236 
Government,  30 
Grau,  182 
Guadalajara,  136 
Guadalupe,  116 
Guahtemoc,  68,  120 
Guanajuato,  132,  104 
Guano,  154 
Guatemala,  43,  69 
Guayaquil,  151,  156 
Guayaquil-Quito  railway,  220 
Guayas  River,  156,  158 
Guianas,  21 

Hayti,  97 

Holy  Alliance,  147 

Honduras,  68,  74,  see  British 

Honduras 
Horse,  the,  37 
Houses,  native,  114,   141,  200, 

225,  253 
Huacas,  247 
Huancavelica,  161 
Huanchaca,  289 
Huascar,  182 
Huayna  Capac,  229 
Humboldt,  34,  217 

Inca  roads,  223 


INDEX 


293 


Incas  of  Peru,  13,  32,  57,  159, 

229 
Indian  folk,  13,  44,  51,  53,  57, 

68,  101,  138,  163,  170,  243, 

249,  275 

Inquisition,  50,  167 
Iquique,  151,  180 
Irrigation,  176 
Isabella,  Queen,  41,  50 
Iturbide,  147 
Ixtaccihuatl,  113 

Juarez,  140 
Kosmos  line,  162 

Labour,  native,  see  Indian  folk, 

also  Peonage 
La  Condamine,  218 
La  Paz,  268 
Leguia,    President     of    Peru, 

167 

Lima,  166 
Llamas,  154,  259 
Lower  California,  140 

Magellan,  43,  207 

Maguey,  134 

Malaria,  157 

Manabi,  157 

Mangroves,  155 

Maximilian,  147 

Mayas,  65,  138,  160 

Melancholy,  Indian,  275 

Merida,  138 

Mexico,  20,  45,  98-150 

Mexico,  city  of,  113 

Mining,  51,  104,  132,  133,  160, 

243,  258,  288 
Misti,  177 
Mitla,  60 

Monroe  Doctrine,  148 
Montezuma,  106 
Morgan,  88 
Music,  native,  163,  275 


Natives,  see  Indians 
Negroes,  92 
Nelson,  Admiral,  83 
Nezahualcoyotl,  60 
Nicaragua,  80 
Nicoya,  82 
Nitrate,  179 
Noche  Tnste,  117 

Oaxaca,  136 

Oficinas,  nitrate,  180 

O'Higgins,  195,  201 

Oligarchies,  169 

Olives,  176 

Ollague,  mountain,  188 

Orchids,  137 

Orizaba,  105 

Oroya  railway,  166 

Oruro,  1 88 

Otumba,  Battle  of,  120 

Pachuca,  104,  132 

Pacific   Ocean,  64,   139,   151- 

208 

Pampa,  181 
Panama,  43,  63,  73,  86,  87,  91, 

155 

Panama  Canal,  see  Panama 
Panama  hats,  157 
Pardo,  ex-President,  167 
Patagonia,  207 
Paterson,  90 
Pedro  de  Candia,  154 
Peonage,  138,  141 
Peru,  20,  47,  151-265 
Peruvians,  the,  168 
Philip  II,  51 
Picture-writing,  66 
Pierola,  ex-President,  167 
Pineapples,  138 
Pizarro,  47,  151,  236 
Poetry,  Indian,  279 
Poetry,  native,  279 
Poetry,  Spanish  American,  26 
Ponchos,  254 


294 


INDEX 


Popocateptl,  113 
Population,  34,  95 
Portugal,  41 

Potosi,  104,  162,  269,  287 
Prat,  182 
Proletariat,  145 
Puebla,  136,  145 
Putumayo,  34 

Quechuas,  242,  270 
Quesada,  48 
Quetzalcoatl,  104 
Quiches,  65 
Quicksilver,  161 
Quinine,  137 
Quipos,  66 
Quito,  166,  215,  222 

Rafts,  native,  159 
Revolution,  143,  170 
Roosevelt,  President,  87 
Rotos,  Chilean,  180 
Rubber,  77,  86,  104,  135 

Sacsaihuaman,  263 

Salvador,  78 

Sand-dunes,  176 

San  Martin,  264 

Santiago,  193,  199 

Santo  Domingo,  97 

Seals,  152 

Shiris,  223,  229 

Silver,  132,  162,  256 

Slavery,  148 

Sorata,  178 

Soroche,  209 

Southern    railway     of     Peru, 

177 

Spain,  fall  of,  264 
Spanish  language,  24 
Stelae,  72 
Strikes,  145 
Sugar,  104,  163 

Tabasco,  136 


Tarapaca,  180 
Tehuantepec,  73 
Tennis,  Aboriginal,  135 
Tenochtitlan,  113 
Teotihuacan,  59,  120 
Terrace-farming,  246 
Texas,  147,  148 
Texcoco,  n  6 
Textiles,  native,  227 
Tiahuanako,  163 
Tidal  waves,  174 
Timber,  86,  101 
Tin,  162,  1 88 
Titicaca  lake,  163,  177 
Tlascala,  106 
Toltecs,  12,  139,  1 60 
Travel  methods,  36,  37,  152 
Trujillo,  1 66 
Tumbez,  154 

Turkey,  original  home  of  the, 
135 

United  States,  see  Americans 
Unknown  God,  61,  214 
Uynini,  188 

Valdivia,  48,  193 
Valparaiso,  151,  188,  197 
Venezuela,  21 
Volcanoes,  216 

Walker,    American     filibuster, 

83 

Water  power,  145 
Whymper,  217 
Wine,  176,  207 
Women,  status  of,  37,  115,  135, 

143,  154,  163,  168,  202,  205, 

252,  274 

Yareta,  260 
Yellow  fever,  157 
Yucatan,  138 

Zacatecas,  104,  132 


Printed  in  Great  Britain  by 

UHWIM  BROTHERS,  LIMITED 
WOKING  AND  LONDON 


CAL/R 


